Republic Knights
by Sean Son of Athena
Summary: Tharen is a jedi knight who recounts his journey through the fall of the republic, what it means to be a jedi and that the council isn't always right.
1. Knighthood 23 BBY

**Disclaimer: I do not own any star wars!**

My name is Tharen Rarth, and I _was _a jedi. Instead of telling the story on how i became a jedi, this is how i learned what it means to _be _a jedi. I was alone in the boy's dorm room on the east side of the temple. I was trying to remain calm while I waited for my master, Tera Caren, to return from her meeting with the jedi council.

I had been trying to meditate for the past two hours but my mind buzzed with speculations of what they were talking about. Maybe we'll get sent on some mission! I thought happily to myself. I'd settle for a walk to get Master Yaddle's laundry at this point. Being grounded in the temple for the past two weeks was starting to take its toll.

Personally I blamed my friend Saras. Sneaking out at night had been her genius idea. She had talked me into accompanying her to the lower levels of Coruscant to "explore the streets and examine the night life." Well truth be told, the only reason either of us hadn't been killed by a pack of drunken bounty hunters was because our masters had been following us.

When we got back to the temple Master Caren could barely look at me. While she hadn't yelled at me, I was punished. The only time I had been out of my quarters was when I had a class with one of the masters and to eat. What really bothered me was that I had one more step to complete before my trials would be over and I would be a full fledged jedi knight, but one mistake seemed to have screwed it all up.

That was until this morning when Caren finally had calmed down enough to talk to me. She said that the council had requested to speak to her, and if she was sent on a mission, I probably would be allowed to accompany her.

I was sitting on my bed reading a book on hand-to-hand fighting that Master Caren had assigned me to read. A soft knock on the door way alerted me to the presence of someone else in the room. "You going to get ready or just read that book?" Said a young female voice.

I looked up to see Saras. Her black hair was cut just above her shoulder except her padawan braid, which rested partway down her tan tunic. Just the sight of her made me happy, but I didn't tell her that.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I stood up from my bed. "Where's Master Caren?"

"She's still in the tower with the Service Council." She answered. "Master Slather sent me to accompany you up there."

"Why would they want me?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Lets go find out." She turned and stepped out of the room. I grabbed my cloak off its hook and ran down the hall to join her. "Race you to the fountains!" She laughed. "Last one there buys lunch for a week." She bolted down the hall.

We raced down the hallways. I saw a few jedi masters give us angry glares as we rushed past them, but they didn't stop us. As we reached the room of a thousand fountains I slowed my pace to a slow walk to avoid disturbing the Masters that meditated around us. "I win." I whispered smugly to Saras, who was just behind me.

We walked in silence toward the elevator that would take us to the Jedi Service council chambers. A few steps away from the door I sensed somebody run up to me. "Could you point me toward the dueling room? I thought it was on the east wing but I can't find it." I turned to face a young girl, maybe twelve years old with tied back, snowy hair, her padawan braid which hung loosely behind her ear. She wore a solid gray tunic and her double-bladed lightsaber hung from her belt. She held her cloak under her left arm.

"It's that way, two floors up." I grinned pointing to the northern hallway on the other side of the room. I had forgotten that today was the testing day for all the temple's younglings. "Good luck, I hope you get chosen by a wise master."

She smiled. "Thank you!" She cheered as she bolted towards the hall.

"You think she's going to pass?" Saras asked me skeptically.

"She seemed to be a good girl, she'll do fine." I answered. We ended the conversation and arrived at the elevator to the Council Chambers.

"I'm going to go return to my master, we'll catch up later." Said Saras. I started to ask why but she cut me off and said "because they only asked for you." I nodded and entered the Service council tower elevator.

A moment later i was standing in the door way of the council chambers. The room was pitch black. I thought about drawing my lightsaber but some part of me knew that I shouldn't. Instead, I cautiously stepped forward into the center of the darkly lit council chambers. The second I stopped moving several lightsabers of varying colors burst to life around me. Yet again, I fought the urge to draw my lightsaber.

Several cloaked jedi stepped out of the darkness and surrounded me with one carrying a green saber being about a meter closer than the rest. "We are all jedi." Said Master Caren lowering her hood in front of me. "The force speaks through us. Through our actions the force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledged what the force proclaimed." I realized immediately what was going on and knelled on the ground before my master. "Tharen Rarth, by right of the service Council and the jedi order, I dub thee jedi,knight of the republic." She then lowered her lightsaber blade and cut off my padawan braid. I watched as my red hair fell to the ground.

A moment of silence passed before the towers lights came back on and tall the masters except for Caren, who motioned for me to stand. "I am very proud of you." She smiled. She had always radiated a motherly warmth. I don't know if it was the wrinkles of her old age mixed with her extreme wisdom or just how she treated everyone with respect and compassion, either way I felt safe.

"I thought I was going to be failed after..." I started to say but she stopped me politely.

"It was a test, Master Slather and I asked Saras to lead you down there so that exactly that would happen, it was the test of humility, to test if you could admit where you went wrong." She led me over to a window overlooking the rest of the Jedi temple. "Tharen, I have a request. I would like you to go to the dueling room right now and pair with a padawan." She led me over to the tower's window so we could look down at the rest of the temple. "I want you to find a student to pass on everything I have taught you, I've only ever had two other students and both of them followed where the force guided them, and that was a solitary path without a student. I believe that isn't what is for you. I believe you will make a grand teacher."

"Of course master. But may I ask why you are asking me to do this? I probably would have done that anyway?"

"Because you are also my last student, I am far to old to continue doing this, I plan to stop teaching students and focus more on my role as a council member." I didn't know how to react, she was admittedly older than most human jedi and had served the service council for many years, maybe it was time that she stopped and focused on leading the service council.

"I will do as you ask Master." I said respectfully before bowing and leaving the room quietly.

~~~•••~~~

Once I returned to the main temple building I headed straight for the dueling room where the padawans were training. The room was a large arena type room with several squared off areas where padawans dueled each other. Four other jedi stood around the room watching the duels. I myself found myself drawn to a certain match between a twi-lek boy and the same white haired girl I had met before.

She wielded her dual bladed lightsaber defensibly. The boy was obviously a stronger swordsman than she was. He had forced her back in a quick mix of ataru form and shi-cho. But the girl didn't give up. She was faster than him, so even though he was strong enough to brutally push her back further and further, she kept stopping his blows with little difficulty.

I watched the match for well over thirty minutes until the boy started to grow tired and the girl took advantage and used her saber to knock away his and end the match. A moment later their instructor came over to me. He was a middle aged Cathar with spotted gray fur. "I noticed you are watching the match between Kair and Ranna. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Master Caren asked me to instruct a padawan." I explained as I looked across the hall at the other jedi initiates who's duels had ended much earlier and were resting on the sidelines. "She said that this would be a good place to start."

"Well, Kair is a strong swordsman as you most likely noticed. He's smart but tends to focus much of his time on solitary studies." He recommended. "If you like I could introduce you two and see if you would be a good pair."

I ignored his recommendation and asked "what about Ranna? She seems more restrained than most the other younglings."

"She is one of the most devoted to the code youngling I have seen for a while, also she seems to spend much of her time reading reports from the old republic.." He led me down the steps toward the students. "But I do wish she would spend more of her time actually focusing on her classes, in fact today she was twenty minutes late for this practice."

"Would you mind introducing us?"

"Give me a moment to go get her, I was just about to start the third round of duels if you would like to wait for a bit longer?"

"No thank you, I have seen enough." He nodded and returned a moment later with Ranna. Then walked away to give us a moment to speak."I see you found your way here from the fountain room." I smiled.

"Thank you for that, Master Yalger probably would have failed me if you hadn't given me those directions." She stood in front of me nervously tapping her foot. "Is there something you need from me, master...?"

"Tharen, and I just wanted to talk, I'm searching for a padawan."

"Well then Tharen, do you want my opinion on who should be chosen?" She asked as she adjusted her gray tunic's shoulder.

"Actually, no, i want to get to know a few of the students before i decide. If you would like that of course." She nodded polietly.

"Is there anything else?" asked Master Yalger returning and standing next to Ranna holding a data pad.

"With your permission I would like this youngling to walk the temple grounds with me." I asked.

"So is she going to be your student because I must caut-" He turned to Ranna.

"We'll see how it goes." I answered for us both. "If the force wants us to be master and student than it shall be." He nodded then told Ranna to be back to the youngling dorms by sundown then allowed us to leave.

We wandered around the temple learning about each other. She told me that the other younglings called her Etch because of her half Echani heritage. I had started to ask about her parents but she seemed uncomfortable with the subject so I let her shift the subject to something a little happier. A few hours into our walk we both decided to grab some food and eat in the temples garden.

Ranna and I sat in an open clearing next to one of the waterfalls and continued talking while taking small bites from our bowls of Quria soup. "Master Tharen, thanks for giving me a chance."

"You don't need to thank me Ranna, anyone would be proud to have you for a padawan." I grinned back at her before taking another sip of my soup. I could sense her emotions take a turn for the worse.

"Yeah... one day..." She said sadly as she started to stand up.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked grabbing her wrist.

"Well, the way you said... I thought you were going to pick someone else..."

"No, that's not what I meant at all, I would be greatly honored if you would be my padawan." She looked at me skeptically. "But only if you are willing to learn from me."

"Of course! When can we start?"

"Today if you want, I just need to go speak to your instructor first." She grinned happily. "I'll meet you by the front entrance after I speak to Yalger." She immediately bowed respectfully toward me and quickly walked away. "Note to self, teach her to be a little less eager."

During the first four weeks we began to work as a team. Early on I picked up on her focus on defensive lightsaber combat. While my lightsaber form focus was makashi, which was more of the duelist style of combat she would obviously benefit more from soresu. It was difficult for both of us but she began to be able to hold her own against my precise blade work. Although she was unable to beat me, I felt proud that she had picked up on the skill as well as she had.

Ranna and I both stood in the hanger of the jedi temple listening to Master Slather explain to us our first mission while Saras stood behind him. "Telos has sent out a bio-chemical alert ordering all civilian ships to stay away from the planet until the problem is dealt with." Explained the tall iradonian. "What we need you two to do is retrieve a sample of what ever is happening so that our scientists can find a cure. You will find the sample in a research station in Bao-Duar, the planets capitol."

"Yes master." Answered Ranna and I.

"Good, Saras will take you to your ship." He finished then quietly strolled away.

"Hello _Master." _Greated Saras sarcasticly.

"I'm not a master yet Sar, what are you doing down here?"

"You are to padawans like Ranna and I" She grinned to my young student as she led us over to our star ship. It made me chuckle that my best friend and much younger student were the same rank. "This is the ship the council is loaning you." She pointed to a green Delta - 6 star fighter. The cockpit had been modified to allow a second pilot. A green R-1 droid had been installed to the triangular ship's port side. "And do try to come back in one piece... _Master." _A grin grew across her face but something told me that she was referring to something different this time. "I'd better get going, Slather said he would concider allowing me to start my trials."

"Good luck Saras." I smiled climbing onto the ship and opening the cockpit.

"Be careful." She waved back. "You still owe me lunch." She nodded to Ranna then meandered out of the docking bay.

"Come on Etch, lets get going." She rolled her eyes historically at the mention of her nickname and climbed into the fighter. I took the back seat so I could help her if I needed to.

We both grabbed the headsets that rested on the controls and put them on. "Testing, green two checking in." Ranna's voice echoed through the sound of the ships engines.

"Rodger that, coming in clear, Green one checking in." I answered with a grin. At least she had a playful side. "Green two, you think you can fly us out of the bay?"

She flicked a few switches on her console. "Yes master." Ranna grabbed the throttle and the fighter levitated off it's landing gear. The ship launched forward and once we were outside, we pitched upward. "Plotting course for hyperdrive ring." The ship wobbled slightly as she grew familiar with the controls.

"Small adjustments." I recommended. "You've got this."

She steadily weaved us through the air traffic towards our hyperdrive ring. The sensors to my left blared red. "I think I'm getting the hang of this!" She cheered.

"Good." I swiftly transferred control of the ship to my station and jerked my throttle to the left to avoid colliding with a civilian's speeder.

"Blast!" Ranna cursed as she noticed the ship she almost collided us with. "I'm so sorry master." She apologized.

"It's fine." I reached over her chair and patted her on the shoulder. "That's why I'm here." The moment we exited atmosphere I aligned us with the hyperdrive ring. "Can you plot course for Telos, while I finish the start up sequence for the hyperdrive?"

"Of course." She laughed.

A few moments later we were gone, traveling through hyperspace. I had to laugh at Ranna. Her face was glued to the vessel's canopy watching the stars hurtle by. I set the fighter to auto pilot. "Hey Etch, what are you looking at?"

"The stars, aren't they beautiful?" Her voice sounded amazed.

"Haven't you ever been in hyperspace before?"

"Only in simulations, I never imagined it was this beautiful!"

"Its more beautiful if you see it through the force." I answered.

"Can you teach me how?" She asked excitedly.

"Close your eyes." I ordered her calmly. I waited a moment. "You feel the force around you?" She nodded. "Imagine it as fog, push it back and clear your view."

"Yes Master."

"Don't talk, just listen and nod." I answered calmly. Feel for the distant force." I could sense her amazement. "Can you feel the lives, on all the planets, all the star systems?" She nodded again, her posture relaxed further against her seat.

I let her meditate for a few hours until she finally stopped, breathing deaply like she had just emerged from a deap sleep. "Tharen, that was the most-" she was at a lost for words. "They don't teach that at the temple, who showed you that?"

"Master Caren showed me when we first met." I answered as the ship dropped out of hyperspace, into orbit of Telos. "I figured I should pass it on." I felt a sense of pride fulfilling part of my promise to Caren. "Disengage the hyperdrive ring." I ordered as I began plotting course for the planet's capital.

As we neared the planet, the communications unit beeped, signaling an open channel. I flicked the switch, allowing the message to be received through my headset. "Unidentified fighter, this is Telos Flight Control, you are entering Telosian territory, please identify." A male voice rattled through the headset.

"Understood Control. We are on a mercy mission from the Jedi Council." I answered as I sent our identification codes. "Requesting permission to land at Bao - Duar." Down bellow I sensed something dark but I couldn't quite figure it out.

A few moments passed silently. "Permission granted." My screen flashed with coordinates, overlaid over a map. "Just a warning sir, Telos is under quarantine. You will not be permitted to leave until you have been passed by our medical technicians."

"Affirmative, that it why we are here." The channel closed abruptly. "Well Etch." I sighed. "You heard the man, bring us in." I released the throttle and gave her control.

Ranna guided the fighter to the landing pad without incident, although it might have had to do with the distinct lack of other air traffic. We landed on a pad that jutted out the side of an enormous, metallic tower. The building reminded me of a large rocket that had been warped so that it bowed to the side like an arc. The city around us was unusually quiet, devoid of any life.

Three security officers were waiting as I opened the canopy and allowed Ranna to climb out first. "Evening Master Jedi, we just received the council's transmission a little bit ago." Announced the man in the center. He wore an olive green uniform that was held tight by a pistol belt. His face was scared and wrinkled, revealing a man that had been in too many fights. "I am Administrator Onasi."

"Thank you, but I'm barely a Jedi knight." I answered graciously.

"Oh!" He seemed surprised. "Well either way you're here to help us Mister-" He paused and looked at me, slightly embarrassed. "I'm not too familiar with the Jedi order, what does someone call some one of your status?"

"Just call me Tharen." I motioned to Ranna, who was standing next to me. "This is my Padawan, Ranna." She nodded meekly.

"Well Tharen, if you will follow me, we'll take you to the labs so you can continue your mission." I nodded. "Okay, right this way." He instructed as he motioned for Ranna and I to follow him inside.

~~~•••~~~

The medical lab was on the other side of the city. Administrator Onasi had us transported in a heavily armored rover that rattled and shook with every slow step. Poor Ranna looked extremely uneasy as she watched the refuse filled street. "Master, this just isn't right." She whispered to me. "Where is everyone? Its the middle of the day!"

"I don't know Etch." I answered.

"In their homes." Answered Onasi from the front of the vehicle. "We're trying to contain the disease as much as possible."

"Isn't it a little extreme?" Asked Ranna. "If it's not an airborne virus, shouldn't people be able to walk around freely if they are not sick?"

"You don't seem to understand what this virus does to the body, girl." His tone became more agitated the longer he spoke. "It doesn't _'make you sick'._ It changes you."

"Like a mutation?" I asked before Ranna could blurt out something rude.

"Worse." He answered bluntly. "The host becomes some sort of monster. It bites someone else and they to become one of the creatures." The rover rattled harder every time he spoke. "The only option we have left in my opinion is to burn the city and all the people in it." I envisioned the entire city burning to fuel his hatred for this creature. "But that decision is up to the Prime Minister."

"You're a monster!" Shouted my padawan.

While I completely agreed with her, it was our job to be diplomatic. I would have to reprimand her later, Master Caren had never yelled at me in public out of respect and I planned to follow my former master's example.

"No, I'm just a realist." The administrator shrugged like he'd been told that a thousand times. "It's not feasible to save everyone, might as well save time."

I shot Ranna a look that told her not to continue her argument no matter how much I agreed with her. She gave me a surrendering nod and sunk into her seat. "I think what my padawan meant to say was, that there must be other options."

"Doctor Kadra claims she can cure it if she could get better equipment." He answered. "But she even admits it would be a long shot."

"Isn't at least worth trying?" Now I was starting to get irritated by his pessimism . "Even if if it only saves a few people."

"I don't have to argue morals with you." He spat as the rover stopped just outside a stone building. "The Prime Minister and Doctor Kadra are waiting for you inside." His tone told me that he wasn't in the mood to talk anymore. Ranna and I climbed out the rovers hatch ti the outside. He slammed the hatch behind us and speed away back towards the tower.

"Well he's just a bottle of sunshine." Chuckled Ranna. I gave her a disappointed look. "What?" She shrugged.

"Ranna, you need to be more tactful." She knew I wasn't joking, wasn't mad. I was just disappointed. "If we're going to go on missions, I need you to-"

"I understand Master, but what he was saying was just wrong."

"I completely agree with you." I answered. "But it's not our place to judge. As long as he doesn't have the power to act, we can't do anything."

"Okay Tharen, its just..."

"I know." I turned away from her to the structure. The building was smaller than most the others that covered the city. I could tell there were two floors by the two windows that flanked both halves of the building. The weird thing was that the only light that emanated from it was on the top flow, a lone light source flickered green from the window. "Does that seem a little strange to you?"

"Very."

I grabbed my lightsaber off my belt and flipped it on. My lightsaber blazed a bright green. I looked over at Ranna, who held a full length, blue saber-staff.

I squeaked open the damaged Plexiglas door. My lightsaber cast creepy shadows as Ranna and I proceeded deeper into the lab. Shattered glass crunched and cracked beneath our boots. "How did Onasi not notice this when we showed up?" Whispered Ranna, she had shut off one of her saber-staff's blades to accommodate for the hall ways tight corridors.

"I don't know, he should have plainly seen it from the rover." I answered. A medical gurney emitted a high pitched squeal as I pushed it out of our way. A disturbing growl echoed above us.

I stopped hearing the sound of crunching glass behind me. I turned to see Ranna frozen in fear. The poor girl, it must have been her first time off planet for a while, and what do I do first? Bring her on a mission with deadly, disease creatures. Some master I was. Maybe it would have been better for her safety if I had told her to stay with the fighter, but then I reminded myself of when I was a young padawan. I had hated it when Master Caren had me stay behind "for my own safety", I didn't want to start our partnership like that.

"Etch, you okay?"

"Yea- yeah, I'm coming." She rattled. I could tell she was extremely scared. She ran forward to catch up, stopping next to me.

"Stay close to me, I'll keep you safe."

"I can keep myself safe, thank you." She uttered as we both took a step forward. She seemed more comfortable to have me behind her. Her steps seemed more confident.

As we approached the stairs that would take us upstairs the growl happened again only closer, a lot closer. I pulled Ranna behind me and stepped into the stair well. The growl disappeared as we reached the top floor. The entire floor was one large room that was crowded with miscellaneous medical equipment. A trail of green blood led to a female Twi'lek's corpse that was draped across a computer consol.

"What happened to her?" Asked Ranna stepping closer to the corpse.

"I have no ide-" A blue creature stepped out of the shadows and stared at us, flaring its foamy mouth. It's claws scrapped along the tile deck.

I readied my lightsaber, this creature radiated dark energy and it made me uneasy. Was this the creature Onasi had been talking about? Had it been what killed the Twi'lek?

"Tharen!" Screamed Ranna. "She's moving!" I turned to see what Ranna was talking about. Big mistake. The monster I had been watching charged. I had just enough time to spin around to face the creature before it was sent flying through the air and impaled on a broken pipe.

I turned back to see Ranna's hand outstretched as if she had used the force. "You okay?" Her breathing was labored and frightened. I nodded. "The twi'lek, she was moving a second ago." She pointed to what I had thought was a corpse.

I ran over to her immediately as I noticed her shallow breath. She looked me in the eyes when she saw me, frightened eyes, like ones that had seen pure darkness and lived to tell the tale. "Stop him!" She groaned painfully. "Rakghouls, I know what they are." She grabbed my hand tightly. "Onasi released them..." Blood began to bleed profusely out of a gash across her white lab coat. "Don't let us bur-" a final groan escaped her breath as her hand tensed and her eyes began to whiten. The Twi'lek's head tails began to crack like something was going to break out of them.

I settled my lightsaber against her chest. I hated having to kill her, but I couldn't risk letting whatever she had been changing into surviving. I flicked the switch and my blade burned through her, leaving the body with a burnt hole through her chest cavity. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner. May you join the force." I said solemnly as I slid her eyes closed.

"Master..." Ranna breathed. "I think that was Doctor Kadra." She held a small I.D. up next to the woman's cracked face. "If this is Kadra, is it possible that that thing was the Prime Minister?"

"It has to be, Kadra said that Onasi released some Rakghouls." I answered. "You have any idea what Rakghouls are?"

"No idea." She answered.

"Okay well then we'll need to send this to the council." I grabbed a syringe off a desk and cautiously approached the rakghoul. I stabbed the needle into its dead corpse and removed a blood sample. "Lets get out of here before more show up." I ordered as I slid the syringe into one of my belt pockets.


	2. Telos, Day of the Dark Illness 23 BBY

Ranna and I contacted our fighter's R-1 droid and told it to fly the starship to where we were. A few moments later we saw the fighter land in front of the lab we were using as a refuge from the rakghouls. The droid beeped angrily as we approached the fighter. It explained that bombers were being readied for something and I speculated to destroy the city.

"I knew it, that Rancor brain is going to destroy the city!" Her tone sounded like all of her suspicions had been confirmed. "He released the Rakghouls in the lab when the doctor found out what they were, now he's going to kill everyone!"

"Calm down Ranna, we're not going to let that happen." I answered. "I'm going to contact the council, tell them what's going on." I walked over to the wing of the fighter and opened up the booster satellite.

I didn't have enough signal strength to send a complete call but I was able to send out a message and distress call. I told the council that the the Prime Minister was dead and the Capitol city was threatened. I also requested they sent a Jedi Master to help Ranna and I with Onasi.

Our next step was going to be the hard part. Delaying the bombers long enough for the council to send aid. Ranna and I climbed into our fighter and set course for the military hanger on the outskirts of the city. As we flew over I realized we were too late to disable the bombers, too many soldiers lined the runway, so the next pass we made I pulled the trigger on the fighters guns.

Blaster bolts obliterated twelve of the eighty bombers on the far side of the field. I flipped the ship around to make a second pass, but the military base's defense turrets activated, forcing me to jerk us into a barrel roll. Ranna clenched her stomach like she was going to be sick as I corrected the ships orientation.

There was no way I was going to destroy more bombers without being shot down and that would certainly not help stop O'Nasi from blowing up the city. I powered down the fighters guns, transferred the power to the shield generator and bolted the fighter away from the base as fast as I could.

"What do we do know?" Asked Ranna, who's stark white face returned to its normal, slightly less pale color.

"I'm going to the city control center." I answered, yanking us in the direction of the large tower at the center of the city.

"I'm going with you right?" She asked.

"No, you'll be safer taking the fighter back to Coruscant." I answered. "Make sure the other Jedi arrive with a cure."

"No way am I being held back, I'm going in with you." She complained. She pounded her fist on the consol and turned around in her seat to face me. "This guy is obviously crazy, you're going to need my help."

"Ranna, you don't get it." I sighed. "I need you to do this. End of conversation." The control tower was now little over a kilometer away. "The best way we can help these people is if I go in alone and you come back with the cavalry."

"Master, the droid can fly the ship by itself, you're leaving me behind because you are trying to 'protect' me." Her tone had changed from angry to understanding. "And I completely understand that, but I don't need to be protected. I need to be taught." I remembered having this same argument with Caren during our mission to Correlia.

"Ranna..." I sighed. At least I knew she had my back. "Fine, but stay behind me." I ordered as I opened the fighters canopy. I placed the sample of Rakghoul blood on my seat. Then Ranna and I jumped out of the fighter just as we passed over the top of the control center and watched our ship take off into space.

Hopefully Onasi would assume that we had departed along with our transportation. The roof had no entrance so Ranna and I had to lower ourselves down on grappling hooks. We were lucky, the floor we lowered to was empty. I used my lightsaber to cut a circular hole and Ranna used the force to prevent the cut glass from crashing the ground alerting every guard in the guiding to our presence. We quickly ran to the door way that would lead us into what I assumed was a hallway.

Now the bad luck struck. When we opened the door a lone guard happened to be walking by pushing a grav-sled of supplies. He noticed us immediately and pulled his blaster out of its holster. He wore the a dark green military vest and his gray helmet was equipped with a holographic display that over layed in front of his eyes. "Hold it right there!" He barked. I spied Ranna's hands inching towards her lightsaber. The guard fired a warning shot at her feet. I hoped no one heard him fire his weapon. "Hands up Jedi!" He ordered.

Ranna I slowly raised both our hands. I had one option to avoid a firefight in the halls. The force. "We're not the Jedi you're looking for." I soothed, pushing my way into the mans consciousness. I could feel him fighting me.

"I am not the Jedi I am looking for." I had never exactly been the best at mind tricks.

"No, we are not the jedi you are looking for." I corrected, forcing his mind to my will.

"You are not the Jedi I am looking for." His tone was confused and I felt my control over him waver for a moment, but he lowered his pistol.

"You will give us your blaster and tell me where to find the Administrator." Ranna was now helping me and his mind was much easier to bend.

I held out my hand and he dropped the pistol into my hand, then he pointed us in the direction of Onasi's office. The guard collapsed as we released his mind and bolted down the hall.

The halls were empty the entire time we were running down the hallway. I assume it was because Onasi was in the process of evacuating his soldiers. We made it to Onasi's office without incident.

Ranna and I readied our lightsabers before we entered the room. "Ready Etch?"

She gave me a proud nod. "I have your back Master." I had only known the girl for less a couple months, but I will admit, I was proud of her. "Ready when you are."

I hit the button that opened the door and we charged inside. The room was the largest of the rooms we had passed through. A single green hologram lit up the room, displaying the entire city and the positions of what I assumed to be artillery placements around the city. Four DSN-4 GAUSE droids stood on standby around it. Onasi was among them relaying orders to his soldiers.

"-to the beta sector, make sure too..." He looked up from the communication unit and noticed us. "Relay to all teams to begin the bombardment." He ordered before switching off the call. He signaled to his droids and they took defensive positions around him. "Was it too much to hope you would get killed by the Rakghouls or shot down?" He bellowed.

"Administrator Onasi, you are under arrest on a count of treason!" I raised my lightsaber in his direction. "Call off your troops and surrender!"

He chuckled at my accusations. I realized that Onasi was armed. He held a small Blast Tech Dl-22 blaster pistol in his right hand and had a long viro-sword attached to his belt.

"This is the only way to protect the rest of the planet!" He explained before firing his blaster.

I deflected the bolt directly back at one of his droids causing it to clatter to the ground. Directly after a barrage of blaster bolts were released from the remaining droids forcing Ranna and I to take refuge behind a crate.

"If I have to give my life to save this planet, that is what I will do!" Screamed Onasi as more bolts riddled our position. I could hear the booming sound of thermal charges bombarding the city. "If one Rakghoul makes it out of this city, the entire planet will be lost!"

A large explosion shook the tower causing Onasi to stumble. I took the opportunity and fired the blaster, the guard had 'given' me, at the three remaining droids, exploding them with each bolt. I dived back behind our refuge just as Onasi unleashed an onslaught of blaster bolts.

I looked over at Ranna. She was clutching her arm tightly. "You okay?" I asked as I moved closer to her.

"I'll be fine Master." She groaned painfully. She scooted closer to the crate revealing a painful blaster burn burned through her tan tunic, creating a painful crater of charred skin just below her elbow.

"Don't move." I ordered her. Now this was personal. I know jedi aren't supposed to get mad, but looking at poor Ranna got the better of me.

I bolted out of cover and charged Onasi. He fired a few surprised blaster shots but I deflected them and sliced his blaster in half. He franticly dropped the destroyed pistol and drew his viro-sword. The administrator had barely enough time to block my first strike before I was moving onto my second strike.

He was able to anticipate each of my assaults after just a few attacks. I had to change my strategy, maybe a more defensive tactic would work better. I let him go on the offence and hoped he would grow tired before I did. He would try to hack through my defense, but I would perry his sword, twisting it in futile attempts to tear the blade from his hand.

Our swords interlocked one last time, sparks flew as my lightsaber contacted his energy enhanced sword. We struggled against each other for what felt like an hour, until a menacing grin grew across his face. He reached down with his free hand and drew a second blaster, a dirty dueling trick.

Bang! One blaster bolt struck my chest. Bang! The second one struck. Bang! He fired his third and final bolt. The burns hurt like a thousand blazing suns. I collapsed in pain.

Onasi laughed triumphantly. He slowly walked over to my crippled frame, kicked the lightsaber across the floor, and placed his boot over my throat. "Jedi knight!" He spat before placing more pressure on my neck. "Your council must be very desperate for jedi." His blade was now less than an inch from my face. The room rumbled as more explosions bombarded the city. "I'll do you a favor and kill you before your padawan so you don't see her suffer, I know how important that is to you Jedi." He raised his viro-sword and prepared for one last jab.

BOOM! A loud explosion rocked the entire floor and sent both, Onasi and me flying across the room. My head struck the wall and everything went dark.

The next thing I know a blurry woman with dark hair is lifting me onto a stretcher and placing a bacta mask over my mouth and nose. She must have noticed I was waking up because she ran her soft hands through my short, red hair. "You did it Tharen." She soothed, her tone was soft and familiar. "The council received your message just in time." I racked my mind trying to figure out who it was. Saras, it had to be her. "Rest, brave Jedi knight, rest." She soothed, gently sliding my grav-strecher out of the room.

Once outside I was exposed to the full onslaught that the city had endured. The area around the tower, and the tower it's self were in ruins. A cloud of purple gas lingered along the streets. A squadron of Jedi starfighters streaked across the sky releasing more of the purple gas to other areas of the city.

Now the combined effects of my injuries and the bacta began to take hold. My eyes grew heavy and I fell into a weary sleep.

~~~•••~~~

The next time I regained consciousness, I was lying in a cot inside a medical bay. A blue medical droid stood over a bunk a few feet away from me working. My vision was too blurry to see farther than the droid, so I couldn't tell who was in the bed but I hopped it wasn't Ranna.

I tried to pull myself up, but was forced to lay back down by somebody's hand who gently pushed me back down against the pillow.

"Don't move too quickly, you'll tear your bandages." Cautioned Saras's voice.

"Where are we?" I groaned painfully. "Is Ranna okay?"

"We're on the way back to Coruscant." Saras answered. "Ranna is fine, she's down the hall getting something to eat. You know, that's a tough girl you've got." So if it wasn't Ranna in the medical bed, who was it? "You're lucky that the Administrator was on top of you when the tower exploded." Continued Saras.

"What do you mean?"

She pointed to the bed next to me. "He got riddled with shrapnel." Her tone was full of pity. "The droid say's he'll survive, but probably is going to need cybernetics to breath and walk." She helped me sit upright and sat down beside me. "Not that its going to matter, he's going to be in a Republic prison for a long time."

"Its probably for the best." I answered.

Saras grinned. "I think you're going to be fine." She gave me a joyful slap on the back. "I'll go tell Ranna you're awake, she wanted to speak to you."

"No, I'll go see her." I answered. "It'd be good for her to see that I can stand." I turned to the robotic doctor. "If its alright with the doc, I mean." It nodded but didn't divert it's attention from it's unconscious patient. Saras stood up, then offered me her hand. I took it and she helped me stand upright. I wobbled unsteadily for a few moments and Saras tried to talk me into staying in the med bay, but I told her no.

Even though I objected, she forced me to allow her to help me limp down the large starship's hallway. She led me into a small mess-hall, the walls were metallic with clear view ports that looked into hyperspace. The symbol of the Jedi,a shining lightsaber with republic wings, had been painted on the wall in gold paint.

Ranna sat at a table alone near one of the windows eating and watching the hyperspace blurred stars., away from the six or seven other Jedi on the other side of the room. Her right arm hung in a cloth sling across her chest. Her white hair had been tied back and she was wearing a fresh, clean tunic, which was more than I could say. I was still dressed in my undershirt and torn tunic pants.

Saras set me down silently next to my padawan and walked over to the food droid behind the counter to get me and her something to eat.

Ranna was too focused on her food to notice me. "Morning Etch." I joked.

"Day light is relative in spa-" She stopped mid sentence and used her one good arm to pull me into a painfully tight embrace. "Master!" The six jedi on the other side of the room looked at us and smiled. "Are you okay Master? I saw you in the medical bay when I woke up."

"Just a little kicked around, what's for breakfast?" I answered noticing the bandage on her pale cheek.

"As I had just said, morning is relative in space." She laughed peacefully. "But I believe the droid is serving yampa juice and mappa bread."

Right as she finished speaking Saras returned with the food Ranna had mentioned. "Just so you know, this means you owe me three weeks of lunches since I amthe one who found you in that tower." Laughed Saras before sliding onto the seat ahead of us.

"I thought that saving an entire planet would make us even." I answered sarcastically before cutting off a portion of the sweet, berry flavored bread.

She started to laugh as she drank her juice, making her choke slightly with laughter. "You couldn't have done it without the help of thirty other jedi. On top of me finding you bleeding out in that tower, three weeks."

"No deal, two weeks and I pick the place."

"You're the one who owes me, a two and a half weeks and Dex's Diner."

I smiled triumphantly, over the years I had discovered that Saras was extremely difficult to negotiate with and even a small subtraction to my sentence was a huge victory. "Deal." I answered offering my hand in acknowledgement of our deal.

Saras took a bite of her bread and turned to Ranna. "You keep him out of trouble?"

The young girl chuckled. "Only as much as is possible, you should have seen him try to mind trick one of the guards."

"Hey!" I objected.

My padawan ignored me and continued her story. "Not only did he fail to convince him we weren't jedi, he made the poor nerf for brains think he was a jedi." Both women laughed, Saras even started to slip out of her seat.

"In my defense, I did eventually get him to forget us." I pulled the blaster off my belt and flashed it to Saras before reequipping to my belt. "Thanks for that blaster by the way. Ranna."

"That reminds me." Saras chuckled as she reached down to her own belt. "Did you happen to lose anything during your fight with Onasi?" She flashed by lightsaber, its light wooden hilt rolling in her palm as she spun it.

"Hey, give that to me!" I ordered her, half jokingly. She gave me a defiant grin and continued to chuckle. I started to reach across the table to grab it from her but my wounded chest struck the table causing me to recoil from pain. "Etch, help me here."

She gave me an amused look. "What do I get out of it?"

"Oh come on Ranna." She proceeded to lean back in her chair, placed her feet on the table and began to relax. "Fine, you can come to lunch with us." I gave up. The girl raised up her hand and Saras threw her the weapon, then tossed the hilt into my lap. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you two planned this." They both gave me a nonchalant chuckle and ate their meals in quiet.


	3. Crash into the Shadows 23BBY

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"strongA week later, Ranna's point of view./strong/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~~~•••~~~p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Let me start by saying that Master Tharen is one of the most stubborn jedi knights I have ever met. That's not to say he's a bad teacher though. Heck, I couldn't imagine having any other instructor.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The week following our recovery from the events on Telos had been filled with intense physical and mental training, hours of studying in the archive hall doubled with a few hours of sparing in the dueling room against him and other padawans.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Tharen and I were walking through the jedi temple, he was instructing me about how the Old Republic survived its war with the sith empire. "A sith pure blood named Scourge killed the Meetra in front of the emperor and imprisoned Revan." He said, finishing his story.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"We stopped and looked out the corridor's window across Coruscant. I was astonished by the story he had just finished. "What happened to the Emperor? Did anyone ever defeat him and free Revan?" I had to know the rest.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""History is a little sketchy on what happened next, but from what I know, the Emperor was killed years later by an unknown Jedi." Explained my master. "Revan on the other hand, he was defeated at the hands of jedi and sith a few decades later after he instigated a war with the empire once he was freed by a squad of republic forces but not everyone is sure he really died then or simply faked his death."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What do you mean or! I thought the archives had everything?" I complained a little too loud, a jedi master that was passing my gave me a concerned glare but continued on.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Never assume all is known." Answered Tharen. "Remember when I had you read about Bastilla?" I nodded. "Well what the archives fail to mention is that Revan and her were married and had children."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""But the Jedi order has very defined and strict restrictions on romance!" I answered.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""The exact reason its not in the archives, do you know the controversy that would take place if that information was well known?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He turned to see his friend, Saras, walking towards us with her master, Slather. Slather was a male Irodian with light brown skin and sharp horn on the top of his scalp.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Morning Saras, Master slather." Tharen and I both said in unison.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Evening young jedi." Announced the elderly Jedi master. "The council has a mission for the four of us." He took a small holographic device, pressed a button on it, and a series of blueprints appeared above the device. "This is the layout of an ancient jedi temple on Tython. The council wants us to retrieve an ancient holocron from a vault underneath the temple." He explained pointing to a small chamber underneath the structure.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""This sounds like a two person job, why send four jedi?" Asked Tharen.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I was just about to get to that. See these catacombs?" He pointed to a series of tunnels that weaved under the temple, only one of them led to the holocron vault. "The council deemed it necessary to send two teams to search for the holocron, one to look beneath the temple, the other to ward off the indigenous people, the flesh raiders." He closed the device and stashed it back under his robes. "Come with us to the hanger, a ship is waiting for us." He motioned for us to follow him.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~~~•••~~~p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The council provided us with an old, yellow cargo freighter, they had probably thought that the old ship would attract less attention. The ship had been named CS Krate. I had to laugh at the complete unoriginality of the ships name. We followed Master Slather up the vessel's rusted boarding ramp. The inside halls were lined with unpainted, rusted durasteel platting.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Tharen and Saras immediately headed for the cockpit and Master Slather turned toward what had been a cargo bay to meditate, leaving me alone.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I sighed and slowly walked over to one of the chairs that surrounded the "crew lounge". Four other metal chairs had been bolted in around a center holographic display.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The ship shuddered as the engines primed and we lifted into the air. I made my self busy by making myself familiar with the controls attached to my chair. I quickly discovered that they controlled the holographic display.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The hologram went from an image of the ship to a representation of the jedi temple, to an image of Tython. A summary of each image accompanied each hologram. I was astonished to learn that Tython was where the Jedi order was first founded.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"After reading everything I could on the planet I decided it would be a good idea to announce my newest discovery to my master. I walked on the tip of my toes - which is not easy in boots - in an attempt to sneak up behind Tharen.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"When I turned the corner into the cockpit I was shocked by what I saw. Tharen and Saras were sitting next to each other holding hands and Saras was kissing my master. This broke everything that I had learned as a youngling from Master Yoda. Jedi weren't allowed to love. I felt a bit of disgust at their disregard for jedi teachings, this was supposed to be my teacher, and here he was breaking the jedi code. But there was also a pang of understanding, the rule against jedi live had always seemed a little... well, stupid. Jedi were supposed to be compassionate, understanding, and love is a compassion.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I pulled myself back around the corner so they wouldn't notice me. 'Should I tell Master Slather?' I thought to myself. It was my obligation to report this to the order, but something held me back. My morals wouldn't allow me to take the steps toward the cargo bay, my apprenticeship with Tharen was built on trust and I felt that if I reported him, I'd be betraying his trust.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I decided I would not report him, but I would have to speak to him about it the first chance I got. I silently returned to my seat.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"A moment after I sat down, Master Slather entered. He strolled over to the chair across from me and sat down. "How are you feeling?" He said calmly as he motioned to my bandaged arm.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The wound had healed almost completely now, but I had been recommended to keep it on for another few days to avoid infection. "Better." I answered abruptly, trying to keep calm after what I had seen just a few minutes before.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He waited for me to continue with an explanation, but gave up when I shrugged. "Good, I'd better go check on Tharen and Saras then, see how long it's going to be." He sighed, standing up from his chair.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""No, no!" I said as I bolted from my seat. "I'll go." I continued, not giving him a chance to refuse.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I marched down the hallway, creating as much noise as I could, hoping to alert my master to my approach. I entered the cockpit and the two had separated and were staring into hyper space silently.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey Master?" I said.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He turned in his chair to face me, his tunic hung a little looser than usual. I shot him a glare that said I wanted to talk privately.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "What is it Etch?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Master Slather wants to know how long the journey is going to be."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Saras stood up nervously. "I'll go tell him, how about you take my seat, Ranna." She volunteered before standing up and walking out of the compact cabin.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Tharen waited until her footsteps disappeared. "What did you see?" Asked my master guiltily.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I went straight to the point. "Do you know what would happen if it had been Master Slather and not me that walked in here earlier?!" I ranted. "What happens to me if they kick you out of the order! The council might believe you'd corrupted me too, all three of us could be exiled!"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm sorry Ranna, I really am." He apologized. "But Saras is important to me. I have tried not to give in to my emotions, but after Telos I told her how I felt." He turned to me. "I know that its hard for you to understand now, but when you get older you'll discover how difficult it is to keep love bottled up."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Master, I won't pretend to completely understand what you're saying, but I'll keep myself out of your business. As long as you restrain yourself." He nodded and returned to piloting the ship silently.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~~~•••~~~p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"We dropped out of hyperspace a few hours later. Tython had three distinct continents, each surrounded with a gigantic ocean. The only thing that prevented the planet from being a perfect vacation spot was the dark storm that span the distance of an entire continent. Naturally our destination was at the center of the storm.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Tharen eased the starship into the ominous clouds. Things were going rather smoothly for such a bad storm, that is until we entered the second sub-layer. Dark purple arks of lightning burst between the layers. I had just buckled into my seat when Master Slather and Saras burst into the cockpit.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What the blasted heck is going on up here?!" Asked Master Slather as he tightly grasped one of the turbulence bars that hung from the ceiling. "Feels like you're flying us through a black hole." He complained as the ship shuddered violently.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I felt something inside the storm, something dark, if I had to describe it with one word it would be malevolent, a close second would be powerful. "I don't know, but it's unnatural." Answered Tharen grinding his teeth as he fought for control of the danced across the forward canopy. "Ranna, shut down the aft thruster, its taking us off course." Ordered Tharen, pointing to a switch just out of his reach.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I flipped the switch and the ship was rocked by an extremely powerful explosion. "Blast it!" Cursed Tharen. "There went the lateral stabilizers, this is going to be a rough landing." He warned noticing the blinking light to his left. "Better go strap yourselves in." Saras and Slather disappeared down the hall as the ship started to dip into a steep, uncontrollable decent.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Tharen wrestled with the controls as we dove further to our almost certain death. As we broke through the clouds a jagged, rocky mountain broke into view right in our flight - or crash - path. Just as we were about to collide, I felt the emergency stabilizers kick on. Enabling Tharen to pull the nose up just enough to not collide head on with the mountain, instead we skidded across the side of the mountain, plowing through trees, shrubs and mounds of dirt.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Just before the view screen broke I used the force to throw up a barrier of energy to protect myself from the glass shards. Not all of them were stopped and I could feel the shards dig into me. We struck some sort of large object near the end of our decent, causing the ship to come to an abrupt stop and making me pitch forward into the consol hard enough for me to loose consciousness.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~~~•••~~~p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Owwww..." I groaned as I rubbed my head. I looked around with blurry eyes at the smashed cockpit. Tharen lay across the ships controls next to me. "Master?" I said as I reached across the space between us to feel his pulse. Still alive. "Master are you okay?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He groaned painfully but nodded.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I unbuckled myself from my seat and checked myself for injuries. My tunic was speckled with drops of blood but after my self inspection, I discovered that none of them were serious enough to warrant immediate attention. I stood up from my chair and approached my master. I had to help him out of his chair because one of the support beams had locked him in place.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He stood up battered, bruised, and his cloak was torn to shreds, but overall he was no worse for ware. "Etch, how you feeling?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Better than I look." I answered as I motioned to my bloody tunic. "You think Saras and Master Slather survived?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I hope so." He answered before taking a painful step forward.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"We both walked with a slight limp as we traveled through the corridor. As we exited the hallway I noticed how torn apart the ship had been. The ceiling's plating had collapsed where the holographic display and chairs had been. I prayed that Saras and Slather hadn't been seated when we crashed.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Rain poured in where the ceiling had collapsed, making the ships metal deck slippery. "Saras!" Called Tharen. "Master Slather!" We immediately set to work searching for our missing friends. I used the force to lift the collapsed plating off the chairs, nothing - good, they hadn't been crushed. "Saras, where are you!" Shouted my master as he ignited his green lightsaber to provide light to the poorly lighted vessel.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"That's when I remembered what I had read about the indigenous people, the flesh raiders. Large, red, shark like people with vicious fangs and strong enough to through a speeder over thirty yards. "Master!" I cautioned. "We need to find them and get out of here fast, the flesh raiders will be on their way!" The Flesh raiders may have been frightened of Jedi, but that wouldn't be enough to keep them away from a bit of salvage and a fresh kill.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He nodded and sped his search, digging under fallen walls and under destroyed bits of ceiling, but to no avail. I was just about to tell him to give up when a sharp nock sounded from the plating beneath me. "Etch freeze," he ordered sharply. All I heard was the sound of rain beating on the ships exterior, then suddenly a second sharp nock from beneath the deck.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Tharen bolted to it's source on the metal floor. A small latch had been camouflaged into the rusted deck. Tharen twisted the latch and pulled. A small trapdoor lifted off the deck to reveal the ship's smuggler hold. Saras was the first to pull herself out of the hidden compartment and was quickly followed by Master Slather.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"A look of relief grew across Tharen's face, I could tell he was fighting the urge to hug her. "You both okay?" He asked. "How did you find that?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I've been aware of it since I came aboard, the storage compartment is always the safest part of any smuggling vessel." He was right, the crew always came second to those morally bankrupt enough to resort to smuggling illicit goods. "The one problem was the lack of a door release on the other side." He observed.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Master, we better get out of here before the flesh raiders arrive." I recommended, nervous about the likely hood of a flesh raider attack. Both Slather and Tharen nodded and the four of us hurried out of the crashed vessel.p 


	4. Marching Through Darkness 23BBY

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emstrongTharen's point of view./strong/em/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The rain pelted us as we climbed out of our crashed star ship. Master Slather and Saras scouted ahead of us a few yards while Ranna and I held up the rear. Every few steps I would see Saras' hood turn to face us. She knew that Ranna knew about our relationship and she seemed uneasy about it and I couldn't blame her, I was uncomfortable too.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Ranna limped next to me trying painfully to keep up with the grueling pace Master slather had set us on to the jedi Ruins. The remains of her gray cloak and tunic kept her snow white hair dry from the down pour. I had offered to carry her but my padawan, being as prideful as she was, refused and continued to hobble along behind me, clutching her bruised leg. "Master, there are other jedi on Tython right?" I nodded to the girl's question. "Well why aren't they the ones entering this ruin?" She had a good point, why send us to another system just to retrieve some relic that could easily have been found by a jedi already there.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""The jedi academy here isn't trained for the trials we will face below the temple." Answered Master Slather as we came to a halt at the end of a ridge that overlooked a valley of rubble and dilapidated buildings. "Is only a training academy, like the one on Telos, the teachers there are only scholars and need us to do the actual exploring, how do you think we found out about this holocron?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Slather went into a prone position before crawling to the edge of the cliff and pulled out a pair of macro-binoculars and looked down at the ruins below us. 'Tharen get up here." Ordered the older jedi. The rest of us went into the same position he was in and I crawled closer to the cliff, next to him. "See those huts in the center of the valley?" He handed me his other binocular.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Now that I could get a closer look I could see small, leather huts that comprised the center of the valley. Strange totem poles that contained a mix of metal, cloth, and wood. I shifted my watch to the outskirts of the camp. I almost jumped when I saw it. The creature stood about seven feet tall, with blood red skin, its head was flat and elongated with its two eyes positioned at opposite ends of it's shark like head. "Are those flesh raiders?" I asked Slather.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yeah." He answered. "We need a way past them into the ruins." He continued before reaching into his pocket and grabbed two spherical objects. "Sonic grenades, they should be strong enough to incapacitate them long enough for us to get in without killing them." We all pulled out our audio neutralizers and placed them over our ears, before he pushed the activator to the grenades and chucked them towards the flesh-raiders, using the force to land them within striking distance of the flesh raider camp.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"By the time they landed we were already down the cliff and running as fast as the mud and rain would permit. Poor Ranna had to block out the pain in her leg to keep up. We reached the jedi temple ruins within moments. It was a circular stone building constructed into the side of a mountain. Dirt and boulders had fell into the collapsed sections of the ancient temple.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Master Slather swiftly pushed the doors open and allowed us inside before slamming the doors shut again and locking them in place with a large, collapsed support beam. then motioned for us to remove our audio-neutralizers "That should prevent any unwelcome guests." He announced before turning to face us. "Saras, you have the map of the temple?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She reached into one of the pouches on her utility belt and produced a holocaster. "Right here Master." She flipped a switch and the interior layout of the temple materialized above the device. She pointed to an doorway on the opposite side of the large hall way. "There is an entrance somewhere in that section, I can't give you accurate directions because of all the cave ins."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Okay, then you're coming with me." Ordered Slather as Saras placed the holocaster back in its pouch. "Tharen, can you and your padawan watch the entrance and look out for more flesh-raiders?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""We got your back, sir." I saluted as the pair turned and walked down the dark, crumbled hallway. I waited until they disappeared before I spoke to Ranna. "Etch, how's your leg?" I noticed that the lower part of her tunic pants had been torn off on her left leg and a bloody bruise had formed.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm fine Master." She grunted as she limped over to a pile of rubble. And sat down. I could tell she was lying.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Ranna I know you're lying." I approached her and knelt down next to her wounded leg. "Okay, I'm going to show you how to heal yourself with the force." I explained before lifting up her leg so it rested flat on a fallen stone. After removing the ragged remains of my cloak I hovered my right hand above her bruised limb. "Okay Etch, you're going to want to watch this." I centered myself to the force, feeling it running through me like a powerful river. I remembered what Master Caren had said. "Relax... reach out... inside the pain... touch the force, knit bones, mend flesh... renew!" I opened my hand and a bright green light emitted from my palm, enveloping Ranna's injured leg like a mist.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I watched as the blood disappeared from the wound, then the bruise lightened to a deep purple, then green, and finality a soft pink. I snapped my hand shut exhausted and dropped to the broken tile floor. I blocked out everything around me, Ranna, light, even time, all in an attempt to maintain the strength to heal her.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Tharen are you okay?!" Shouted Ranna as I collapsed on the ground.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm fine Etch." I answered with heavy, labored breaths. "Give me a minute, healing has never exactly been my thing." She chuckled as I noticed she was standing comfortably. "Hurt anymore?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Not at all, but you blacked out for a while." She answered as she checked out her now uninjured, slightly raw leg.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What do you mean?" I asked. My padawan then informed me that an hour had passed during the time I was in a healing trance. It felt strange that an hour had passed without me knowing it but I accepted her explanation. Then I realized something. "Wait, and you haven't heard a single thing from Master Slather?" The half Echani girl nodded, telling me that her communicator had been silent. "And what about the flesh-raiders? Nothing?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Not a single sound." She answered.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""That can't be right, they shouldn't still be unconscious by now." I said confused. I looked up at the high ceiling and noticed a small broken window had been placed above the doorway. there was no way that the small ledge along the window could hold my weight. "Ranna, do you think you could get to that window and tell me if they're awake?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She looked to where I was pointing. "Sure Master." She approached the doorway, took out her grappling hook. She carefully aimed the device and pulled its trigger. A thin metal wire shot from the tubular object and stuck firmly twenty feet above us. Ranna pulled the handle down and attached it to her belt before flipping the trigger again and being pulled into the air. This all happened within seconds.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She landed gracefully on the narrow ledge and stashed her grappling hook back on her belt. "Master!" Her voice sounded frightened. "They're all dead!" She gagged like she might throw up.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What do you mean they're all dead!" I shouted up to her, just as surprised.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""They're all dead, they're camps on fire and bodies are everywhere!"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I reached out through the force, out of the stone temple walls. She was right, I could since death, cold, malevolent death. That wasn't all I felt though. A dark, deadly power seemed to be inching closer like a fog. The foggy power seemed to grow stronger the closer it got as if it was hunting for its next victim. "Ranna get down!" I ordered. She looked down puzzled. "Now!" I commanded.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She dove from the ledge just as it was blown to bits by a violent explosion of purple lightning. Ranna landed on her feet a few feet away from me with a frightened look. "What was that?!" She shook.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It looked like the lightning we ran into in the storm." I answered. I could feel the fog outside the door now, I knew it had the power to get inside but did not enter, but it also prevented us from escaping. Which meant it was sentient, or what ever controlled it was. The fog wanted us to go deeper into the temple, and we had little other option.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You think that's what killed the flesh-raiders?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Possibly." I nodded. "We need to go find Master Slather and tell him what we found here." I motioned for her to follow me into the dark corridor that Saras and Slather had entered.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~~~•••~~~p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The corridor was narrow with high ceilings. My padawan cautiously walked behind me, I think having me with helped her remain calm after her near death experience with the storms lightning. I held my lightsaber in front of us to provide lighting to the dark, partially destroyed hall way.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"With every step the wooden floor below us would creek loudly. "Master, are you sure that we aren't going to drop through the floor?" Asked Ranna nervously taking another step forward.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm sure, Etch." I lied. I have to admit, I too was afraid the old wood beneath us was going to collapse. The poor lighting in the hall way made it difficult to tell where our feet landed. A few more steps into the corridor a loud emsnap! emsounded behind me. I turned but it was too late. Ranna had fallen through the broken floor and was clinging to a floor over the dark chasm./p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Tharen help!" She screamed.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I dived to the floor just in time to grasp her hand as the board broke. "Just hold on, I'll pull you up!" I soothed, hoping to keep her from panicking. When I began to pull her up, the floor beneath me began to crack. "Can you see the floor below you?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She breathed nervously then looked down. "No, its too dark!"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What about your grappling hook? Latch it to the ceiling."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""If I do that, the ceiling might collapse and kill us both!" Her sweaty fingers started to slip from my gasp. She started to cry, between the ship crash, the storm lightning and now her dangling by my hand I wasn't surprised she was scared. "Master, please don't drop me!" Tears dripped from her stone white eyes.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Never. I promise, we'll find a way out of this." The board I was laying on began to groan. I felt sorry for Ranna. Only her second month as my student and she had almost died at least five times, quite the master I was.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'll catch her!" Shouted a female voice below us.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Saras, is that you?" I called. Now only Ranna's small fingers were within my grasp.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yes!" She answered back. I heard her kick away the wooden rubble below us. Now she turned her attention to Ranna. "Ranna, everything is going to be fine! I am twenty feet below you okay? "p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""That's a long way down, how do you know I'll live?" Cried Ranna, she looked back up at me for the answers.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I looked into her teary white eyes. "I'll be right behind you." I promised. "It'll be okay." She gave me a frightened nod and I released my grasp. A few anxious seconds passed, then she called back up and told me she was okay. "Okay, I'm coming down!" I yelled down before jumping into the hole.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I had to use the force to slow me descent and combined with Saras's more advanced control over the force I landed softly on my feet. I had always been slightly jealous of her power with the force, but she was equally jealous of my skill with weaponry.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I had once asked Master Slather why Saras hadn't been permitted to take the trials. He didn't tell me much, but from what he said, the only thing that was holding her back were her emotions. I was left to assume that if Saras could control herself she too would be a jedi knight.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It took me less than a moment to realize we were inside the crypt beneath the ancient temple. Large stone arches every few feet supported the chiseled rock walls and deep rectangular holes in the walls contained simple wooden caskets that must have been maintained by the force because unlike everything around them, they looked newly built.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Saras's tunic was covered in black dust and she held her blue lightsaber high above her for light with her left hand. "What makes you two join me down in this emwonderful emlittle slice of architecture?" Her sarcasm wasn't exactly joyful, more like she wanted to get it over with./p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Where is Slather?" I asked as I noticed Ranna leaning against one of the arches, catching her breath. "The storm outside is- I don't know how to describe it, it feels alive." She gave me an odd, confused look. "The storm killed all of the flesh-raiders."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""The dark side of the force must be giving it strength." She hypothesized. She pointed toward the northern side of the dark cavern with her blue lightsaber. "My master went that way." She motioned for us to follow her down the stone tunnel.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"As we walked I grabbed the communicator off my utility belt and tried to contact Master Slather to get a better fix on his location. "Master Slather, this is Tharen, what is your position?" emStatic.em"Mater Slather, where are you?" I said after a few moments. "Blast!" I cursed. "The walls down here must be too thick." I replaced the communicator back on my belt./p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I froze as I heard a low grumble just a few feet behind us. Ranna and I both turned, nothing. Ranna clung closer to me as we continued our search. The low grumbling grew more thunderous as we continued.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I could feel the dark energy again, the same fog that had killed the flesh-raiders. It was growing stronger. I had just enough time to turn and draw my lightsaber to defend myself. Powerful lightning struck my lightsaber and arced around me in a lotus of energy.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"All I could see in front of me was an ocean of pitch blackness. I was forced to step back as dark wisps nipped at my feet. I looked to my left, Saras was next to me with her weapon drawn.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""This is but a taste of the dark side." Whispered the fog malevolently as if quoting itself. "To whet your appetite." A deep cackle echoed through the cavern, then a wave of purple energy rippled through the cloud itself. A single orange beam arced from it's center towards Saras. "Learn from my power!" The orange lightning quickly overwhelmed Saras and struck her in the chest. Then the fog disappeared into itself like it had been sucked into a black-hole.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Saras stood there surprised. The energy had burned a hole through her jedi tunic and dispersed across her body, but it didn't seem to cause her any pain, and it worried me. She switched off her lightsaber and returned it to her belt.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What was that!?" Asked Ranna, behind me.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I think it was a spirit. A force ghost." I answered.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""That's impossible, they're a myth." She denied.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I told you this morning, don't believe everything you-"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""-read in the archives, I know, but that's just crazy." She seemed to think about it for a moment. "When we get back to the temple, I will have to study this further." I nodded to my padawan, assuring her that I would join her.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Can we continue now?" Saras's tone had changed, she seemed more angry, almost demanding. "I think Master Slather is just a little farther."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She started to move further down the cavern but I grabbed her by the forearm. "Saras, are you okay?" Anger had always been difficult for her to control, but she had never acted this way with me, especially after she and I started secretly dating.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm fine." She spat as she yanked her arm free and pushed past Ranna. As she passed me I could have sworn her eyes had shifted color from blue to a blood red, but with the dark lighting, it was hard to tell. "Come on, I want to get out of here quickly!" She ordered without slowing down.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~~~•••~~~p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Slather wasn't too much farther down the tunnel. He stood in front of a large wooden door. Different hieroglyphs were etched into the wood. These weren't jedi style carvings though. Each figure seemed more angular than the rounded, soft carvings back at the temple on Coruscant. Its massive size dwarfed the four of us, it helped explain the high roofed cavern.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"A triumphant grin grew across his tattooed face as we approached. "This is the entrance to the holocron room." Saras quietly joined his side and inspected the door. "I think it requires a password to open it."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Ranna inched closer to the door. "I think I recognize these hieroglyphs." She paused for a moment. "These are Echani."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""How do you know Echani?" I asked.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Master, you do remember my father was Echani right?" I felt stupid for asking. "Do werupra." She chuckled as she continued to analyze the carvings.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What does that mean?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I may not speak the language." Laughed Slather with his deep voice. "But I think she just called you a moron." A smug grin grew across both their faces.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Can we just get this over with." Demanded Saras.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Just one minute." Answered Ranna, starting to get slightly irritated with Saras's tone.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I took the free moment to explain to Master Slather what had occurred outside. He was shocked to learn the destructive power of the fog, then I explained, much to Saras's disapproval, what had happened just a few minutes before. He asked Saras if she felt okay and she brushed him off like he was some over protective parent. This definitely wasn't the Saras I knew and loved, Master Slather too knew something was wrong, but he didn't say anything.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I think I got it!" Announced Ranna. She stood up from her knee and brushed off the dirt. "Its some sort of story. According to this, after the jedi civil war." She grinned back at me, at least I had thought her something useful. "Six jedi rebuilt the order, one of them was half Echani, like me, she sealed some sort of dark artifacts inside here, following her master's disappearance."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yeah, yeah, history. Blah, blah. Can you open the door?" Interrupted Saras. I wanted to call her on her poor treatment of my padawan but Master Slather signaled me to let it go.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I was just getting to that." Answered Ranna, growing even more irritated by her fellow padawan's behavior. She looked at me to defend her from my girlfriend's waning temper but I just sighed, showing her I couldn't do anything. "The door will only open when one of equal echani and human blood pushes against this hieroglyph." She pointed to a carving of a jedi in a heavy cloak, wielding a duel bladed saber-staff. "All seems a little too convenient." She laughed as she held her own saber-staff in her hand.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""The force works in mysterious ways." I explained. "It guided you here, to open this door."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She nodded and pressed her hand softly against the door. A soft, silver light leaked out as the doors cracked open, lighting a portion of the cavern with its light. Saras was the only one to flinch as the light flooded in. The doors slowly glided open.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Saras was the first one inside, pushing her way passed Ranna, into the doorway, I followed her after my eyes adjusted to the light. The doorway lead into a large, open chamber with almost ice-like pillars that held up the ceiling and somehow lit the room. The floor was a cold, white marble, and the walls were a light gray stone that displayed even more of the Echani hieroglyphs. A polished, white sarcophagus sat in the center of the room.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""The carvings outside said this is the tomb of a jedi master turned Sith by the name of Atris." Explained Ranna, approaching me from behind. "The jedi I mentioned earlier-"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I could really care less." Spat Saras as she pushed the lid off the casket. "We aren't here for a history lesson."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Slather ran up to the sarcophagus before Saras could look inside it. "Are you okay?" He asked pulling her back away from it.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She pulled back from him again. "I'm more than fine Master!" She hissed before moving swiftly to the other side of the sarcophagus and climbed inside of it.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The room shifted to a dark, bloody red as she climbed inside. "I have returned!" Cackled a voice I knew wasn't Saras's. "Foolish week minded Jedi. Always so easy to manipulate." A boney hand reached out of the casket and began to lift the rest of it's carcass out of its tomb.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Slather, Ranna and I immediately drew our lightsabers as we saw the full body stand up. A boney figure with dry, leathery skin, cloaked in a tattered, white robe watched us with rotten, red eyes. That wasn't what worried me most though, the figure, who was obviously female, held Saras's limp body under one of it's arms and a lightsaber with a silver hilt hung from one of its ribs.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Put her down!" I ordered stepping closer to the walking corpse. I could feel it was strong with the dark side of the force. "I'm only warning you once."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It gave me a toothless grin and ran a skinless finger across Saras's flawless, unconscious face. "I sense much power in you, its too bad you weren't a compatible host." The figure closed its leathery eye lids and set Saras back inside the sarcophagus. "Her life force will supply me with enough power to defeat you three though." Cackled the demonic female voice as a black mist began to stream from Saras into the figure. "Your energy will maintain me as I return to power."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Master Slather was the fist one to jump into battle, he bounded over the sarcophagus and placed himself between the undead woman and his limp padawan. His blue lightsaber was a blur as he deflected an onslaught of powerful blows from the zombie sith lord. For a centuries old dead woman, she could move surprisingly fast.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"As Ranna and I slowly split to flank the zombie. Now she was surrounded on by the three off us. Now she resorted to force powers as Ranna and I cautiously advanced. As she defected a glancing blow from Slather's ocean blue blade she released a thunderous shock wave of deadly, purple lightning.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Ranna and I jumped back just in time to avoid being electrocuted but Slather wasn't so lucky. As he was protecting himself from her red lightsaber, he was caught in the blast. The power of her shock wave sent the jedi master flying, he struck the sarcophagus hard enough for one of it's sides to crumble.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Slather didn't move as the the sith lord stiffly marched toward the wounded jedi. "Fear me." She spat on him as she grabbed him by one of his stubby horns and pulled him into the air. "I am no longer Atris ! I am now Darth Traya, prepare to dye." She emitted a loud curdling scream as she plunged her blade into the semiconscious master's chest and cleaved upward, cleaving him in half.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Rage overcame me as I watched a man I had known for a lot of my life be split in half. The only thing that kept me from charging the undead woman was my jedi training, I forced myself to control m emotions. What worried me was Ranna, she might not have known him as well, but she was still young, she couldn't control herself as well.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Anger seemed to radiate from my padawan as she charged Traya. I tried to tell her to stop but it was too late, the undead sith lord had already charged herself up for another force power. She raised up her hand and in a single deafening emboom! emRanna and I were sent flying across the tomb. I started to pull myself back upright but the undead woman unleashed another wave of force energy. My lightsaber flew from my grasp as the energy collided with me./p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Time seemed to freeze as I lost consciousnesses. Everything went a pale white and the sith woman seemed to freeze in time. Everything had a surreal feeling to it and I was unable to move my body. A ghostly form seemed to materialize a few feet from me.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The ghost was obviously female by her hourglass figure. Her angular face was partially concealed by a spectral, white cloak that covered her body. "Greetings, young jedi knight."Announced the ghost woman as she lowered her hood to reveal her stone white eyes and snowy short hair. It took me less than a second to realize she looked like an older version of Ranna. "I can only manifest this form for a short time." She explained.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I tried to speak but my lips refused to function.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Atris was once a powerful jedi, I am Brianna, last of the Handmaidens, and you will need my help." Warned the female ghost. She held out a single hand and a single crystalline tube appeared in her hand. A lightsaber, it's hilt seemed to be made of polished white crystal with chrome bands that were at the center and an angular emitter. "This is my blade." She explained. My hands started to lift as if they had minds of their own. "Use it well."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She disappeared the same way that the darkness had inside the catacombs. Time began to bleed back into reality. Traya stalked toward me as I pulled myself to my feet. I had just enough time to ignite the ghost's lightsaber and defect the sith lord's attack.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Where did you get that blade!" Hissed the undead woman as she delivered a forceful slash that I barely parried. "The traitor gave it to you didn't she." I took a moment to look at the lightsaber's color, a brilliant silver that provided a stark contrast to the sith's blood red. I tried to counter attack her but she caught by blade with hers and forced me back.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I didn't answer, I was too focused on trying to find my padawan. I looked around the room looking for Ranna. While I was distracted Traya took the advantage and and and stabbed at my heart. I had just enough time to dodge out of her way but not without injury. She had struck a glancing blow to my shoulder.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I pushed through the pain and counter attacked. While I was below her guard, I channeled my control over the force and pushed out with all my strength. To my surprise I had sent her rocketing across the room, crashing into one of the ice pillars and she crumpled under them. I could feel the lightsaber focusing my abilities like water through a faucet. Had that been the help that Brianna had been talking about? Had she given me the blade to strengthen me or simply provide me with a weapon? Either way I hoped that had been the end of Darth Traya.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I looked over at the sarcophagus, the stream of dark fog had dissolved to a trickle. I ran over to it. Saras was laying there unconscious. Her skin had turned a sickly pale and her body twitched painfully. I leaned over and picked her up with both arms. The black fog dissolved as I lifted her out of the sarcophagus.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Ranna appeared at my side as I cradled the woman I loved in my arms. "The dark side has infected her." She said as she brushed her hand across Saras's cracked face. I knew she was right but didn't want to admit it. "Will she be okay Master?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I didn't answer, I was to busy watching Saras's eyes flutter open. "How did we get here?" She murmured.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""You don't remember?" Asked Ranna.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""What do you remember last?" I soothed, holding her tight in my burned arms.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She paused for a moment and thought. It all seemed to be coming back to her now. "I am so sorry." An apologetic tear started to drip down her cheek. "I didn't mean to be so-"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I cut her off mid sentence. "It's okay, it wasn't you acting that way, it was the Sith." I soothed as I helped her sit down on the steps to the sarcophagus.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Wheres Master Slather?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I didn't answer. The ice pillars had begun to crumble more, I could still sense the dark side coming from beneath the rubble. Ranna, help Saras get back to the entrance!" I ordered.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Master, let me help you!" Demanded my apprentice.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Ranna do as I tell you and get her out of here!" She started to argue but I didn't let her. "Etch, If I don't make it, some one needs to survive this to warn the Jedi on this planet. Get Saras to a healer, as a favor to me."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She stopped arguing and nodded. She pulled Saras off the ground and braced her against her shoulder. "Just one second." Requested Saras, Ranna stopped moving forward. Saras grabbed me by the tunic, pulled me closer and gave me a heavy kiss on the lips. "I'm sorry, for everything I've done to you." She apologized as she allowed Ranna to pull her out of the crypt.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Now to prepare. I quickly walked over to the pile of stones my lightsaber had landed on and picked up my blade. Next I placed both blades on my belt and took out my blaster. It's power meter told me that the primary battery had been overloaded, leaving me with just it's stun setting, the worst problem was the barrel had been fused shut when the pistol overloaded. Which meant that if I fired it, the power-cell would short circuit and explode. That left me with two lightsabers and and an explosive blaster.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Knowing it would be too straining and time consuming to heal myself from my injuries, I centered myself to the force around me, the pain from the burns on my arms and legs began to disappear, although I knew they were still there.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The ruble that had fallen on Darth Traya began to crumble as I prepared myself. I felt a third presence in the chamber, I felt out with the force, the same benevolent force, Brianna. Her essence surrounded me as the I awaited the sith. I could feel her inside me, connecting with my soul, for a moment I thought I might be possessed but dismissed it. I had read about sith ghost possession and this wasn't what it was. Brianna as merging with me, I could feel her strength adding to mine, her knowledge, even her power within the force was now added to mine.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emCrash! emA piece of column, that had fallen on Traya, launched from it's resting place at me. Without even thinking I drew both lightsaber's and sliced the chunk in half, sending it crashing to both of my sides./p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Now she appeared. The sith lord stalked out of the opening made by the now cleaved chunk of ice. Her face had been pealed away so that her jaw bone protruded out, and her lips were ripped away, revealing jagged, yellow, and rotten teeth.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Stupid Jedi!" She cackled. "So self righteous, you need to learn that helping others only brings pain to those around you, makes them lazy. That child would have died to help you." The sith stalked toward me but did not ignite her lightsaber. "You should have indulged her in that death wish, would have made a great story for my new empire! The death of Master and Apprentice." She used the force to levitate her lightsaber in front of her and watched me with blood red eyes.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""If I must die, so let it be, but I will not allow you to harm another soul on this planet." I answered igniting both my green lightsaber, and the silver one from Brianna.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""One of your so-called emMasters emcouldn't stop me, what makes you think you can?" I could sense the dark energy flowing through the ice and stone walls that surrounded us. "I will start with this planet, then continue to the next, then the next!"/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Her monologue had gone on for long enough, I charged. Her blade ignited midair and she counter attacked, forcing me to block it with one blade, while slashing outwith the other. I missed but forced Traya to slide away from me.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Before she could recover I charged again. This time my silver blade struck it's mark. Her boney left hand fell to the ground and crumbled into a pile of smokey dust.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The loss of limb didn't seem to phase the undead sith. She only laughed and looked at her cauterized stump. "Stupid Jedi, you are going to need to try harder than that." She pointed with her left arm as if her hand was still there and a blast of deadly force lightning blasted out of her stump.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I used the silver blade to reflect the energy back on her hoping it would inflict enough pain to stop her but she seemed to only absorb the energy back into herself.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Blast!" I cursed. I parried her red lightsaber with my silver blade and slashed across her chest with my green one. She didn't even flinch, the blade passed through her as if she was a ghost.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emWrong blade! emI heard Brianna's ethereal voice echo through my head. emYou need to use mine!/em/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Blast!" I cursed.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"She pressed her offence now. While I was caught off guard by her spectral body, she shoved me to the ground by roughly pressing against my defensive blade with her own.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Both blades flew out of my hands and skidded out of reach.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""And so begins my reign!" Snickered the sith as she stood over me. "I would love to draw this out and watch you suffer but I need be going, the Jedi aren't going to destroy themselves." Her red blade was now just above my chest and her mummified foot held me in place. "Goodbye jedi!" She hissed before the blade struck.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I hadn't realized it but I must have drawn the Brianna's lightsaber to my hands and stabbed her through the chest, this time it burned through her abdomen like magma. Her blade seemed to rust instantly and crumble away. Her limbs turned into wisps, the blood redness of her eyes seemed to fade. Her head was the last thing to disappear. As her head faded I think I caught for a moment a hint of light before she evaporated.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I layed on the ground exhausted for a while until I heard footsteps running down the cavern. "He's this way!" I heard Ranna's voice order. "Hurry!"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Moments later four Jedi entered the chamber with lightsabers drawn, ready for a fight. They instantly lowered them as they noticed me laying on the ground.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Master!" Ranna yelled as she pushed past the four masters and ran to me. "You defeated her! Are you okay?" She helped me sit upright.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Nothing more than a few bruises." I looked toward the four Jedi lifting Master Slather's body onto a stretcher. "Where's Saras?" I asked as I replaced both blades back on my belt. Ranna didn't answer, she only pulled a note out of her tunic. "Where is she Etch?p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I'm sorry Master, there was nothing I could do." She placed the note in my palms and stood up. "I'll meet you by the exit." A moment later I was alone.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The note was obviously Saras's hand writing. It's fluid letters and her trademark pink ink. It was kind of a joke between the two of us since we had started passing notes during lessons in the archives.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emTharen, you know how much I care about you right? Well that is why I must go. There is a darkness inside me, I've known it since we first arrived on this damn planet, it must have always been there.em/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emDon't try to follow me, there is nothing you can do, its not your fault, this is something I must deal with on my own. The jedi order isn't the place for me, not after all this.em/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emDon't blame Ranna for me taking off this way, she wasn't going to be able to stop me, and it's easier this way. No dragged out goodbyes, no apologies. Not directly anyway, just quick, like a bandage.em/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emJust remember, I will always love you and if I ever figure out what is going on inside me, you will be the first to know.em/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I slowly folded the note into my belt along both my lightsabers and stood up. I searched the room for any sign of Brianna's spirit but found nothing, I couldn't even sense her through the force. Just a cold, half demolished burial chamber.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"I walked over to the sarcophagus. A lone, glowing cube sat at the bottom. "I hope all of this was worth it." I sighed as I grabbed it. "Because none of this should have happened." Moments later I joined my padawan by the entrance. She led the way silently through the tunnels toward the exit, she must have understood that I didn't want to talk.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"~~~***~~~p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It was a week before Ranna and I were able to return to the Jedi temple on Coruscant. I was alone inside my chambers, on my bed, looking at the holocron we had retrieved from Tython. It's bright red glow illuminated my palm as I analyzed it's intricate outer layer.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So Master Slather's dead?" I looked up from the cube to see Master Caren standing in the doorway. "Is Saras dead too?"p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""No, she disappeared, I have no idea where she is now..." I looked back down at the holocron. "Ranna and I searched for her but... but we found nothing." I glanced over at Saras's note tucked inside my cloak a few feet away. "Before she left, she said something about having a darkness inside her."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Then there is nothing we can do for her." Answered my former master before sitting next to me on my bed. "The force has other plans for her."p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""None of this would have happened if it weren't for this blasted holocron!" I almost threw it against the wall but Master Caren grabbed my wrist and took the device from me.p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""There is no way anyone could have known what was down there." She soothed."I know you two were close." She looked into my eyes. "Maybe a little emtoo emclose."/p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emHow did she know about Saras and I? Ranna must have told her. emI thought to myself./p  
>p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""But nobody is responsible for Slather's death and Saras's disappearance." She stood up and walked towards the door. "Go meet your apprentice in the Hanger bay, we have a mission for you.p 


	5. A Gray Sun Found in the Darkness 19 BBY

Four years had passed since the events on Tython. In that time the galaxy had begun to fall apart. The Confederacy of independent Systems had declared war on the Republic. The Jedi had become soldiers in a war to preserve the republic. The C.I.S. were led by a sith Lord by the name of Count Dooku. While the Republic seemed to be winning the war, it was plagued with corruption and politics that halted any attempt at a peaceful or swift resolution to the conflict.

Still, even with the war on, all I could think about was what had caused Saras to run off and disappear. It caused me to lose a lot of sleep.

_"Tharen run!" Screamed Saras's voice. My movement's felt slowed like I was in mud. A series of red blaster bolts rained past my head. "They're catching up!" I looked around me but didn't see her. Her voice sounded more like a ghohst. I expected her to appear in front of me like on Tython. No such luck._

_I felt like I had been running for hours then for a moment I caught a glimpse of long silver hair bolt by me and disappear into the darkness around me. "Ranna! Where are you!" I heard myself scream._

_I heard a high pitched scream behind me and skidded to a stop. I swiftly turned around to face a clone trooper in pitch black armor. His rifle was raised at my head._

_"Good bye jedi." I could sense him scowl through his commando's helmet. Then everything went black._

"Master? Are you in there?" Ranna's voice knocking on my door stired me from my meditation.

I pulled myself up from my bed and sat at it's foot. "Come in." I answered clutching my forehead. The clone trooper from my nightmare's voice still echoed through my ears.

A moment later Ranna appeared in the doorway. She had gown taller now. Her long, silvery white hair now flowed down her neck and stopped at her tunic, the same gray tunic that I had first met her in but now a plasteel gauntlet now covered both her forearms.

"Master Caren requests our presence in the strategic center." Explained my padawan without entering the room.

"Why didn't you just call me" I inquired standing up, placng both my lightsabers on my belt and attaching my blaster to my hip.

"You weren't answering." She pointed to my com-link sitting on the table beside my bed. I had forgotten I had turned it off so I could sleep.

"Sorry about that Ranna." I grinned with humiliation. I grabbed the device, turned it back on and placed it on my belt with the rest of my things.

"Now who's the forgetful apprentice? Huh?" She chuckled crossing her arms.

"You seem to have forgotten who saved you from a squad of magna guard on Corelia last week."

"Oh yeah, remind me to thank Master Fisto for that."

"I was there too!" I informed her. "Whatever, let's go to the strategic center and see what Caren wants."

"Your first good idea of the day." She waited until I was out of my quarters then said. "You barely destroyed one of those droids by the way." I ruffled her hair and playfully pushed her before taking off down the halls of the temple with her chasing me.

It was only a short run through the temple to the strategic center. It was a circular room that overlooked the hanger. Several clone technicians worked at computer consoles around the room and a few more watched security cameras on the opposite side of the room. Four jedi, including Master Caren, stood around a circular, holographic table that displayed a map of Coruscant's lower Levels.

"I see you slept well." Mocked my former master, pointing out my distinct lack of armor over my tunic. "We were just discussing the newest thorn in our sides."

"Well then don't let me disrupt you Master." I joined the group around the map. "I'll just wait quietly."

"I hope you can do better than that." Informed one of the other masters. He had an accent that sounded a little like the old imperial accent I heard on old holo-vids. "Master Caren if you will?" He had redish hair and a full grown beard. He emitted an aura of wisdom and peace but he was one of the younger masters in the room. It took me a moment to recognize him as Obi-wan Kenobi.

"Thank you master Kanobi." She answered before pointing to a blinking red dot at the surface of the hologram. "Tharen, Ranna, this is the Judiciary Central Detention Center. It is the prison that holds the Republic's traitors and war criminals." She explained. "You are aware of our shortage on peacekeeper police on the lower levels correct?"

"Yes, a majority of security funds were diverted to the war effort, correct?" I answered.

"Yes, and as you must know, a number of battle droids landed on Coruscant during last weeks battle, those droids have yet to have been destroyed." She continued. "Those droids would seem to have breached the prison and sealed themselves in with the prisoners."

"I'm guessing that we are to take a squad of troopers and secure the prison?" Guessed Ranna, appearing next to me. I shot her a look to remind her not to be so disrespectful of the masters in front of her.

"She seems a little eager doesn't she?" Laughed the Master Kenobi. "Reminds me of when I was training Anakin." Ranna's pale face grew red with embarrassment. "That would be correct, a squad of commandos will be joining you."

"What about the prisoners, did any of them escape?" I asked.

"As far as we can tell, they have joined the droids and are killing anyone that is sent to retake the prison. It would seem that they are programmed to be sacrificial droids that might be why they took such a high security prison instead of hit and run."

"Got it."

Master Caren pulled a chip out of the computer and handed me it. "This is the security code to the prison's security system. You need to raise force fields and re-secure the prison."

I nodded then said. "Thank you Master." Ranna I bowed to the four jedi around the table. "We will begin immediately."

"May the force be with you both." Said Caren as we turned around and walked toward the exit.

Once we were through the door way I over heard one of the other masters say. "Now, Master Kanobi you believe general Grievous to be on Utapau?" Then the door slid shut behind me.

Ranna and I headed straight for the motor pool at the bottom level of the temple and requisitioned a speeder to take to the lower levels. A blue, two-seat speeder bike. I figured that it's extra maneuverability would come in handy if things went south.

"Master... I don't like this." Admitted Ranna climbing onto the bike behind me.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I started the bike and slowly drove it out of the motor pool.

"I feel like we're on trash duty while the other Jedi are leading the fight." She complained. "I want to be out fighting, saving the galaxy!" Her arms were wrapped tightly around my chest, reminding me that she was still afraid of hights since her fall on Tython.

"I thought you would enjoy the relative peace of being back on Coruscant." We were now rushing through traffic, flying toward the prison. "I for one am looking forward to this war ending." I sighed as I pulled the bike into a slow but steep dive making her jump in her seat.

"I am too." She answered. "But sitting on the side lines sucks! The Echani have a motto, _a warrior that's not in battle is like a blaster without ammo, it is an assets being wasted."_

_"_I'm going to guess that we are one of those wasted assets?"

"Yep."

"Well something tells me you'll be back in a fighter by the end of the week." I laughed as the prison came into view. It was a tall spire-like building with a shallow dome-like top. Four more towers jutted from it's sides. No wall surrounded the towers, just a shear drop that spelled certain death to anyone that dared to jump.

"Looks like the commandos beat us here." Pointed out Ranna as I spotted the Republic gunship landed a few meters from the prison's main tower .As we landed next to the gunship we noticed the actual commandos. "What's with the black armor?" She asked as she climbed off the bike.

I had to fight the urge to pull her back onto the bike and take off but I held my ground. It was only a dream, black troopers weren't going to kill us. "I don't know Etch, probably just the squad's color." I answered as I followed her toward the commandos and lowered my cloak's hood.

Four troopers were crouched along the prison's tall, metal wall prepping something I couldn't see. A fifth was inside the gunship sending some sort of transmission. "Welcome General!" Said the trooper in the gunship as he turned around and snapped a salute to me.

"At ease trooper." I ordered. "Why aren't the droids firing on us?"

He relaxed. "My squad has already secured the outside of the prison. As far as we can tell the droids have fortified the interior and hacked into the auto turrets. We need to regain control of those turrets if we're going to have a chance."

"How do you plan to get past the prisons security system?" I asked.

"My demolition expert is going to _open _the waste disposal hatch on this side of the tower," He explained. "Once in, we will head straight toward the security control room, then allow the turrets to do the rest of the work."

"I have a better idea, your squad is heavily armed correct?" He nodded. "Your squad should make a distraction, then Ranna and I will enter through the front and make our way to the control center. From there we'll start the security drones and wipe out the remaining droids."

"Good idea, General. We'll cause plenty of noise for you and draw them away from the center and give you the time to power security." Saluted the commando before turning toward his men who were setting detonation charges against the wall. "Frag, get ready to blow those charges." A moment later he grabbed the rifle off his back and joined his squad prepping the explosives.

Ranna and I cautiously made our way to the main entrance, a large archway with two heavy, durasteel doors that had secured the inside of the prison. I spotted the remains of a CIS frigate crashed between the two large doors and locked them open.

"Well I guess that's how they got in." Said Ranna as we slowly approached the frigate's charred remains. "Is it weird that we haven't seen a single droi-"

At that moment, as if by impulse, I grabbed her by the waist and threw her to the ground just as a sniper bolt blasted by where she had been. "Good job Etch!" I complained sarcastically as I pulled her behind a large chunk of the frigate to keep us out of the droid snipers line of fire. "You _had _to ask where the droids where."

"Well its not like I planned it." She retaliated as she pulled her lightsaber off her belt and ignited it. "Did you see where it is?"

"No." I answered before drawing a blaster instead of my lightsaber. "If we get it to revile its position, I can probably take it out from here." Ranna grinned like she had an idea. "No!" I ordered, but it was too late. She took off toward the entrance. She was few meters from the bulk of the crashed ship when the droid fired. I saw it three floors up, firing from a guard tower. As Ranna ran she defected the bolts until I hit the droid with my blaster, then she jumped inside the prison.

"Ranna, are you okay?" I said over our com-link.

"I'm fine." She buzzed back. "Hurry over here old man."

"On the way. And I'm no where near old!" I answered, ending the call. I ran over to the door way, leaped over the crashed ship and joined my student on the other side of the door. "Don't _ever _do that again!" I reprimanded. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was!"

She didn't answer. She stood there, frozen with fear. Then I heard the tapping of a single metallic foot a few feet away. I looked up to see a single command droid and several droideka.

"Hands up jedi." Commanded the droid with its synthetic, whinny voice. It's blaster rifle was raised and pointed at Ranna's head. "Drop the weapons and put your hands up."

"What do we do master?" Asked Ranna.

"Do as it says." I winked as I dropped my blaster. Hopefully they hadn't seen the two lightsabers concealed under my cloak.

Ranna's lightsaber clattered to the ground, then the command droid cautiously approached us and picked up the two weapons, but still had it's blaster pointed at Ranna. "Forward." It commanded.

Four Droideka followed us as we were led by the command droid, the prisons halls were metallic and shaped like octagons, giving the hall way the appearance of having more space than they really did.

As we walked I subtly dropped emp grenades, while using the force to keep them from being detected by the droids. I looked to Ranna. She gave me a frightened, and confused look. "Jump when I tell you." I mouthed quietly. She nodded in response.

I readied myself to blow the EMPs using a button on my belt. I waited until each of my four grenades were under a droideka's shield. "Now!" I ordered as I detonated the electric grenades then Ranna and I jumped in unison over the leading command droid and I sliced it in half using my silver lightsaber.

She retrieved her lightsaber and I grabbed my blaster. "Where to now?" Asked Ranna as she ignited one side of her staff.

Before I could answer, we heard a loud _boom! _echo through the halls. "I'm going to guess that is the commandos." I answered as I heard blaster fire from the opposite side of the building. "We need to find the control room so we can bring the security system back up."

"I think this hall leads to the main tower." Started Ranna. "From there, we'll just need to go up."

"Well, lead the way then." I motioned for her to continue down the hall. "Cautiously."

After what felt like an eternity of dodging battle-droids we reached the end of the hallway and Ranna was correct, the hallway opened into a large cavernous room that ascended the entire hundred story tower. Thousands of orange force-fields contained prisoners in their cells.

At the center a gigantic spire ascended halfway up the tower and widened into a security tower that could see the entire cell block. "What do we do now?" Asked Ranna. "I don't see a lift. How are we going to get up there?"

"You still have your grappling hook?"

"Blast... I hate these things." She complained as she pulled the cable launcher off her belt.

"You need to get over your fear of heights sooner or later." I reminded her as I aimed my launcher towards the bridge that connected the security spire to the walls of the prison, then Ranna and I fired. The moment the hooks latched onto the bridges rail an alarm blared and all the lights in the room flashed to a blood red. "Crap!" I cursed. "The rails must have pressure sensors." I could now here the rolling of droideka from all four hallways, speeding toward us. "Last one to the top files the mission report!" I said quickly before pulling the button on my grappling hook and lurching skyward.

Moments later Several droideka rolled into the room and began firing towards us, but it was too late, we were already on the bridge.

"Now what?" Asked Ranna.

"They're going to need to find a way up, that gives us a small amount of time to bring the security system online and activate the drones." I answered quickly. "I need you to keep them off me if they get here faster than I can power the drones."

"Got it." She drew her lightsaber and ignited it's bright blue blade.

I quickly ran over to the computer a few feet away and inserted the codes that the masters had given me. First I started up the force-field fence that surrounded the prison to keep any droids or prisoners from escaping.

"General, this is Horn. Please tell me those security systems are coming online." Buzzed the Commando's voice over my com-link. "The droids are headed for the prison's core, whatever you're doing, you better do it fast."

"I'm bringing the force-fields online right now." I answered while remaining focused on the computer. "Just one. More. Moment." A second later the monitor displayed all security fields were online.

"General, we're en'route to your location but I don't think we're going to make it in time, you need to get those drones online."

"You don't need to tell me twice." I ended the call that moment and focused on the drones. After a few moments of searching the screen for the drone program I finally found the program. "Damn, the droids spiked the system, its going to take me a bit to get it running."

"Better get to work now Master, I hear those clankers coming." She was right, the heavy _clangs _of droid feet rang through the halls around us.

"I'm going to have to do the start up sequence manually." I complained as I began my work. I started with the drones motor functions, powering those would be essential to wiping out the droid forces that remained in the prison. I skipped over the system's surrender protocols, there was no reason to take droids prisoner. Second was the weapons systems, the reason goes without saying.

"Master, you'd better be finishing up there!" I heard the sound of a blaster bolt being deflected by Ranna's blade.

"Keep you're tunic on, I'm almost done." I snapped. The last system was the shield generators, it wouldn't matter how many droids I had if they were all shot apart. "Done!" I cheered as I finished the start up sequence.

"Good, now if you don't mind!" Ranna deflected a volley of bolts back into a squad of battle-droids and killing them.

I turned to face the second bridge, opposite of the one Ranna was defending and drew both of my lightsabers, holding my silver blade in my right hand. I ignited my sabers just in time for several droideka to explode less than two meters from me. Then, out of the smoke stepped three clone commandos aiming their rifles at a set of droids on Ranna's side.

Before they could fire, four sentry drones dived across the bridge and riddled the attacking droids with red lasers.

A few moments passed as we waited for more droids, but the attack never came. "Where's the rest of your squad, Commander horn?"

"Dead, they went down while we were hurrying here to save you." His tone almost sounded spiteful. "Shall we commence clean up procedures?" I nodded and he motioned for his two squad mates to fan out down the halls, while he scanned the security cameras.

"Ranna, come with me" I ordered turning to my student and motioned for her to follow me. After a few moments of walking we stopped and looked down towards the tower's main floor. "Was that enough action for you?" I chuckled as we both slumped onto the metal deck and dangled our feet over the ledge.

"Not as fun as being in a fighter, but I am looking forward to a nice, cold glass of jawa juice." Answered Ranna. "When do you think we'll be able to go back to the temple and get lunch? I'm starving."

"After I call the council, it'll probably be a couple of hours." I answered and she sighed sadly. I reached to my belt and produced my com-link, then entered Master Caren's frequency. "Evening Master, the prison security system is online, you can commence sending in replacement personnel."

"Good to hear Tharen, after you finish cleaning up the last droids I look forward to reading your report."

"Believe me, you'll find Ranna's report quite interesting." I looked over to my padawan, then ended the call.

"You don't expect me to actually file that report do you?"

"Well I did win the bet."

Well, much to Ranna's displeasure, I was wrong. Several hours passed as we patrolled each of the hundred and twelve levels checking for flaws in the security fields. It was most likely dark outside but within the windowless catwalks of the prison, it was impossible to tell.

"This is about as boring as scrubbing plasma conduits." Sighed Ranna as she munched on one of her ration bars. "No, it's more boring, at least with conduits there's a chance of something exploding."

"Have I ever told you that you're impatient?" I answered, before checking a cell's door panel. The prisoner, a rather large Kathar male watched me angrily with his feline eyes. I finished checking the panel for malfunctions and stepped away.

"You might have mentioned it once or twice." Snickered Ranna as she took another bite of her "dinner." She casually placed the foods wrapper back in her belt. "Maybe more."

"Maybe a lot more." I corrected as we arrived at the flight of stairs that would bring us to the next level.

My com-link beeped just as I reached the second step. "General, Lieutenant Frag here." Spoke a troopers voice from my device. "We are reading a power failure in cell thirteen-thirty-one. Its on the deck you are about to reach."

"Thank you Lieutenant, we'll check it out." The transition abruptly ended. "Note to self, some clones don't understand thank yous." Ranna laughed at my comment as we trekked upward.

A few moments later we found the cell. The energy door was on but wavered in intensity. I tapped the door's panel and the door disappeared. Ranna and I immediately stepped inside cell and set to work finding the issue with the emitter matrix.

"Master, it has to be a power problem, none of these emitters are broken." Spoke Ranna as she moved over to the next set of emitters. Just as her fingers touched the bulb the shield blazed to light. Ranna screamed painfully as the energy seared her pale hand.

I yanked her back before the shield did any permanent damage. She fell back to the ground painfully grasping her scorched hands. "Why the blasted hell did it turn on! I thought it was broken!" She groaned.

"I did too!" I answered. I turned on my com-link. "Lieutenant Frag, why did the shield come back on? You said it was busted." I asked quickly.

"It was never broke sir." Answered the clone commando.

"What! Then why did you tell us- you know what, that can wait. Let us out of here."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that."

"I gave you an order lieutenant, I expect you to follow it." I balled my fist angrily in an attempt to contain my rage.

"I'm afraid, I'm not going to follow _any _of your orders."

I could now hear the sound of heavy, durasteel boots clanging from a few feet away. A moment later Commander Horn, followed by Frag and another commando, stepped into my view on the other side of the energy field. "Enjoying your new accommodation?" He held his helmet under his left arm and held an e-web auto-cannon in his right hand. His sharply angled face and malicious grin betrayed his intent. "Do you have any idea how many of my brothers have died because of you Jedi?" He spat at us causing the field to sizzle.

"Is that why we're locked in here? Because clones are dying?" I inquired getting as close to him as I could. "Do you realize the repercussions you are going to face?"

"Ha! I wish that was the reason you were locked in there." Cackled Horn. "Order 66 is active, you jedi are enemies of the republic." He slid his helmet over his head and ordered. "Activate the nerve gas, we can't let these jedi escape, the Chancellor wants to make an example of some jedi and I want the to be the first in front of the firing squad."

"Yes sir." Saluted Frag before pressing a button on the panel.

Once the three commandos were out of view, a loud hissing sound erupted from the grated ceiling a few feet above us. A white fog filtered through above us.

"Master, what is that stuff?" Asked Ranna nervously as we both backed up against the rear wall, away from the majority of the gas.

My nose began to go numb as more fog filled the cell. "Nerve gas." I coughed. My senses grew slower and slower as I fumbled to draw my lightsaber. "We need to get out of here. " My dulled mind could only come up with three options. Cut open the door? No, then we would have to fight three heavily armed clone commandos and in our condition I doubted we would succeed. Cut open the floor below us? No, we'd be trapped in another cell, with one of the prisoners and still have to deal with the gas. That left option three, cut out a back door and hope for the best. I ignited my blade and dug it into the wall.

After what felt like an hour but was probably only a few seconds. A blast of cold night air partially woke be from my half unconscious state as the cut portion of the wall crumbed in front of me.

"You aren't serious!" Complained Ranna as the prison's klaxon blared around us.

"I don't see you coming up with any better ideas." I yelled over the alarm.

"I don't think I can do it!"

"We'll jump together." I said grabbing her hand. "On three, one, two, three!" The second we jumped I heard the security field dematerialize and the sound of blaster fire then lost all consciousness.

~~~•••~~~

"Are they going to be okay?" Said a boy's voice next to me.

My shoulder burned like it was on fire and my sight was to blurry to be any good, probably because of the nerve gas. I tried to pull myself up but pushed me back down softly.

"Tharen, don't try to move, you've been shot." Said a woman a little further away, I recognized the voice, but the rushing wind around us and my foggy mind distorted her voice too much for me to figure it out.

" Where is Ranna?" I groaned.

"She's right here." Soothed the woman. "We're going to get you two somewhere safe then we'll talk about the next step after." I could sense we were in a speeder by the way we pitched to the side as we turned. "Dain, I need you to take the controls so I can check that blaster wound." The vehicle shook as the two switched positions. "Damn it Tharen, why is it that every time I find you, your about to die..."

~~~•••~~~

The next time I woke I was inside a dark, but strangely warm room. The only light source was a small window that filtered in dim, smoky, neon lights. Every time a speeder or cargo craft would pass by, the room would shake.

I was laying on a metallic operating table. I rubbed the spot where i had been shot on my right shoulder as I pulled myself into a standing position and cautiously limped towards the door on the opposite side of the room. Twice my weakened legs almost gave out from under me before I crashed into the door. I pressed the doors control and it slid open.

"Master!" Cried Ranna as she ran to catch me before I fell. She led me over to a large table with a central lamp that lit the center of the room. "You shouldn't be walking yet!"

"Etch, where are we?" I groaned, my shoulder ached worse than when I woke up.

"A safe house, deep within Coruscant." She answered. I noticed she was wearing a white leather jacket over her tunic. "Dain was just explaining how they found us."

She pointed to a boy with short, brown hair, maybe a year younger than Ranna. He was wearing a dark green jacket over a tan jumpsuit. "My Master foresaw that you would be in trouble three days ago, she failed to predict the extent of that trouble though."

"So you're a jedi too then?" I asked.

"Yes and no." He shrugged. "And before you ask, no we are not sith either."

A door slid open behind him and a cloaked figure stepped through and dropped a heavy crate of miscellaneous supplies by the door."Dain, you aren't scaring my guests are you?" Asked the same familiar voice from the speeder.

"Um... uhh... no, why would I do that?" He stuttered jokingly before the woman joined us at the table.

"I'm sorry for the accommodations but with the Empire hunting Jedi, its hard to find a safe place to hide."

"What empire? This is Republic space!"

"Not anymore." She answered. "Tharen, don't you remember me?" She lowered her cloaks hood and revealed her face. She had shoulder length black hair, brilliant blue eyes and a familiar grin that put me at ease, it was Saras.

"I thought you were gone!" I cried as she walked to my side of the table and hugged me tightly.

"I know, I'm sorry." She looked over at the Ranna. "Could you show Dain some of those meditation techniques that Tharen must have shown you? I need some privacy with your master."

"I guess I could, is that alright Master?" She asked looking to me. I nodded. "Alright Dain, come with me..." She said halfheartedly as she walked toward the door I came from.

Saras waited until both teenagers had left before she talked. "You don't understand how bad things have gone since Palpatine declared himself emperor." She explained. "Clones are patrolling the streets killing all the jedi they find! I'm so happy I found you before..." She kissed me.

"Saras, what happened to the jedi temple? How many others do you know survived?" I asked as I pushed her back a little. My emotions were tied in knots, on one hand, my best friend and lover had come back into my life, on the other, everyone else I knew was likely dead.

She didn't answer.

"I need to know, who escaped?"

"I don't know..." She cried. "Palpatine's new lackey, Darth Vader took an entire platoon of trooper to the temple the night we found you, ever since temple has become a trap for returning jedi."

"You can't be serious! How could this happen!" I wanted to blame Saras even though I knew it wasn't her fault, then I blamed myself, what if I'd been there, could I have helped defend the temple?

I must have had a pretty sad look on my fave because Saras wrapped her arms back around me and said "there's nothing you could have done. Nobody could have predicted this. I'm sure Master Caren made it out." I knew she was lying, I could sense it, my former master was dead, slain by Clones.

I had to push it out of my thoughts, something productive. "How did you go so long without being detected by other jedi? Surely they could have sensed you." I inquired.

"A little trick I picked up on Korriban, I can conceal myself inside the force itself and be practically undetectable by those around me."

"I'll assume that you've taught Dain the same skill?" She nodded. "How did you two meet up?"

"I'll tell you all about it later, right now we need to go to the Jedi temple." She ordered standing up again to pick up the crate of supplies she had brought in and started unloading them onto the table.

"I thought you said it was a trap?"

"Yes, it is. But there is something I need, we will need if we are going to help preserve the order."

"But you aren't a jedi anymore, you have no obligation."

"Tharen, I never stopped being a jedi, I just stopped obeying the Council's principals." She said pulling out a green flight jacket and tossing them to me. "Get dressed, hopefully they won't recognize you as a jedi. I'm going to go see if the kids are ready." She ordered before disappearing into the other room.

A moment later Saras, Ranna and Dain came back into the room. Ranna seemed to have relaxed a little more and returned to my side.

"So, what exactly are are we going to the temple fore?" I asked placing my hand on Ranna's shoulder to show her I was feeling at least a little better. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Remember that holocron we were searching for on Tython?" I nodded, the entire mission had been nothing more than a disaster. "Well, that is the main reason I am on Coruscant, I need it."

"You just said you needed it to preserve the order?" I inquired.

"Have you ever heard of the Order of Revan?"

I nodded again, I had always been interested in the Old Republic era, I saw it as more civilized and less corrupt. "They denounced formal jedi beliefs and taught the use of both sides of the force."

"Correct, well they aren't all dead."

"What do you mean? They all died during the Revanite war in Kessel."

"Tharen, I know for a fact that's not true, they are just spread out." Saras pulled her cloak's hood back over her head. "The only way the Jedi order can survive is by working with the Revanites, they are use to fighting empires and avoiding destruction."

"I don't like where you are going with this Saras, the Revanites were nothing more than disillusioned sith lords, how can you trust them." I pleaded. "Listen to me, they're-"

"No, you listen. They aren't the war mongers you've been led to believe!" Her tone was getting angrier. "They're truly good people that just want to live out normal lives!"

"And kill people for looking at them the wrong." I added.

"No! They have the same morals as the jedi, heck even some still consider themselves Jedi. They just have a looser view of the force and respectfully use both sides as tools."

"Saras, what have they done to you!"

"They've opened my eyes, just give them a chance, for me." She wrapped her gloved hands around mine and smiled. "Just trust me."

I kissed her softly on the lips. "Fine, but I need you to be at my side if anything happens."

She nodded and let go of my hand. "Thank you for trusting me, now we need to get going, I have everything planned out and ready, I'll explain everything on the way." Saras ordered, motioning for us to follow her out the door.

Saras explained the plan as she piloted her shuttle through Coruscant's Merchant Guild Zone. The plan was to split up, much to my displeasure, I didn't like leaving Ranna's safety in the hands of Saras's "student". Ranna and Dain would enter through the northern side of the temple's maintenance hatch and make their way to the temple's main power generator, then shut it down.

While they dealt with the power generator, Saras and I would enter through the eastern landing pad and make our way to the Archives and open the holocron vault.

As we approached I looked for any sign of life around the temple. None, just as would be suspected for any jedi returning to the temple. Saras had told me that for the first couple days while I had been unconscious, a call had gone out to all the remaining jedi to return to the temple, but it had been relieved to be a trap set by Darth Vader. The clones had reset the trap but the signal had already gone out, the damage was done. No more Jedi would enter the temple. Well, except for us.

Ranna was the first to jump off the side of the craft, then Dain joined her. "Be careful." I warned, looking down at the two teens below us. Then Saras bolted the vehicle around the temple's corner and headed for our entry point.

"What are you doing?" I asked, noticing she was setting the auto-pilot.

"We can't exactly leave this thing hovering around the temple can we?" She answered sarcastically. "Now get ready to jump, we don't have time to stop." She stood up from her seat and motioned for me to stand up. Her gloved fingers slid into my hand. "Jump."

A gust of high speed wind blasted my face as we leaped out of the vehicle's canopy and fell towards the temple. We both slowed our descent using the force and softly landed on the landing pad.

It was obvious that there had been a battle, blaster marks and the scorched remains of clone trooper bodies. "Oh no!" Cried Saras. I turned and saw what she saw. A few feet away, on the walkway that led to the Temple, was the body of a young boy. Saras and I slowly, respectfully approached his body. "I can't believe they're doing this..." a single tear fell from her eyes and landed on the boy's tunic.

"This has to end. How can the senate sit bye and allow this to happen?"I asked rhetorically. I grabbed the boys lightsaber off the ground a few feet away, placed it on his chest and covered it with his hands. "May become one with the force." I said solemnly. "Come on, we don't know how much time we have before one of the clones notice us." I said turning to Saras, who seemed too shell shocked to move.

I had to softly pull her to her feet before she said another word. "Who ever did this is going to pay." She pulled out her blaster from its holster and marched down the ramp into the temple.

A moment later a bolted after her. "Saras, you need to get a hold of yourself. If you go charging in there, you might blunder straight into a trap. She didn't speak. "Fine, if you aren't going to answer, at least slow down."

She slowed down slightly but not by much. Once we arrived at the entrance she pressed the screen next to the door but nothing happened. "Damn..." She pulled put her lightsaber and switched it on.

"Wait!" I ordered just before she started cutting through the door.

"What? Nobody is on the other side, I would be able to sense them."

"If you cut through that door, you'll set off alarms across the temple."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" She asked stashing her saber under her cloak."Are we just going to wait for it to rust open?"

"I wish we had that kind of time." I answered sliding past her and pulling open the door panel. I reached into one of my belt pouches and produced a slicer's screw driver.

"When did you learn to hack doors?" She asked as I began spinning the device inside the door's socket to try to find the locking mechanism.

"Just after the war started." The lock clicked after a moment and Saras pulled it open. "Just don't ask me to try it on wood." I motioned her to lead the way before drawing my own blaster.

My com-link beeped so I activated it. "Master, we've got a problem." Said Ranna through my damaged com-link. I must have landed on it when we escaped from the prison.


	6. Black Commando 19 BBY

**Ranna's POV**

If Tharen wasn't like a father to me I probably would have punched him for even suggesting that I go into the Clone-trooper infested Jedi temple, with one of the most annoying guys I had ever met! From the moment we started crawling through the air ducts he wouldn't stop talking, and the worst part was he tried flirting with me.

I had made him crawl in front of me so that he couldn't stare at my... you know what, you can guess what I'm talking about. "So... how does a pretty girl like yourself end up as a jedi?"

"No business of yours." I responded dryly.

"Come on." He continued. "We're going to have to spend a lot more time together."

"You do realize that the jedi code forbids me from forming relationships?" I stopped crawling and waited for Dain to override one a ray-shield in front of us. "And even if I wasn't, you annoy the blasted heck out of me." I snapped.

"So you pick and choose which parts of the code you are going to follow?" The force field dropped but he didn't move. Instead he turned around in the cramped ventilation tube and looked at me. "You seem to be getting pretty mad, and if I'm correct, anger is also against the jedi code." I fought the urge to pummel him, but only because I would have to explain it to Tharen. "You seem to have forgotten that I was once a padawan too."

"Can we just continue with our mission." I barked as I pushed him in the direction we had been going.

Dain didn't move. "If there is anything you should have learned from your master, it's that the council isn't always right." He must have been referring to our masters' relationship. "Over the past few thousand years the jedi order has been rebuilt so many times and changed so many times, who is to say what view point is the closest one to being correct?" After a moment he turned back around and continued crawling into the temple.

"That is why I follow jedi like master Yoda."

"If you truly believed that, you would have reported Tharen the moment you found out that he and my master had a thing for each other." He didn't turn toward me again but I could sense the grin growing on his face.

"I didn't tell the council because Saras was gone, it was irrelevant." I defended.

"Is that the truth, or what helps you sleep?" He didn't give me time to answer. "Under the guidance of 'master Yoda' the jedi order has been all but destroyed. This never would have happened if leaders like Meetra Surik or Sateele Shaan had been in charge. No, they would have foreseen this and prevented an evil man like Palpatine from becoming leader of the Republic." He must have sensed how much this was bothering me because he stopped his rant and said calmly "just something to think about."

We continued on for a while until the ventilation made a sharp left toward the fan blade shaft. We didn't need to go that way though, our destination was beneath us. I took out my lightsaber and ignited one side and be an cutting a round hole in the floor of the ventilation beneath us. Dain, who was surprisingly good at slowing the decent of the heavy ventilation floor, lowered what I had cut onto the ground a ten meters down. We checked to make sure nobody else was in the room then jumped down.

I had guessed right, we landed in the center of the strategic office. This had been the last place we saw Master Caren. I could only hope she was still alive. I told Dain to stand watch by the door so I could look at the security cameras so we knew what we were up against and so I could get away from him for a moment. I made my way to the security console and swiftly browsed through each of the cameras until I found the holocron vault. Among the library data banks that surrounded the vault door stood several clones in blue and white armor. ARC troopers. Then upon further inspection I saw an eighth trooper.

"Blast, Dain get over here and take a look at this." I ordered pointing to a clone commando in midnight black armor. The emblem markings on his shoulder told me exactly which one it was. Lieutenant Frag. Dain arrived at my shoulder and attempted to wrap his arm around my waist "to get a better look at the small screen" but I swiftly swatted him away. "That's one of the commando's that tried to kill us." I explained, still revolted from his attempt at being romantic. "And let go of my hand." I added as he slipped his fingers away from my hand.

"So what? We can get past eight clone troopers."

"We still need to warn Tharen, where ever Frag is, Horn is probably nearby." I remembered my com-link was broken so I had to ask Dain for his. "Master, we've got a problem." I said as soon as he answered. "Frag is at the vault, and Horn probably isn't to far behind."

"Thanks for the heads up." Answered Tharen,his voice was fuzzy which meant his com-link was damaged, but at least his worked.

"What should we do?"

"Continue with the plan, go shut down the power, we'll meet you in the hanger bay when this is over." He ordered.

"Tharen, with all due respect, we should help you against the clones."

"No, do as you are told and go get a star ship ready after you shut down the power. We will need a fast way off Coruscant after this."

"Yes Master..."

"Okay, stay safe Etch, I'll see you soon." Then he closed the channel.

"Well you heard the man." Said Dain slapping me on the back. "Let's get this over with... Etch."

Then I punched him.

**An/ tell me if Ranna and Dain's interactions go a little to far but I find it funny. As always read and review.**


	7. Questioning the Shadows 19 BBY

_**Tharen POV**_

Saras saw the clones first. When the large library doors first game into view we knew something was wrong. As we crept through the entrance to the library I felt as if I was being watched so I had my blaster drawn and was ready to run for cover. Saras on the other hand seemed to be very comfortable. She was only holding a knife and walked next to me in calmer strides.

The library's data shelves were still online and glowed a bright blue. Several tables lined the central path, another dozen were piled against the wall like they had been thrown.

Saras subtlely motioned towards the upper level where we saw three clone troopers stealthily concealed behind an archive wall. We made no move that revealed us knowing they were there. We walked past them and noticed a seires of mines set up allong the outer portion of the walkway. Then we saw Frag. The clone commando was standing in the center of our path holding a E-4 sonic rifle, one of the few weapons a lightsaber couldn't deflect. His blood red visor cought the light and reflected it toward the ground.

Frag raised his rifle and pointed it toward Saras. "You have two seconds to drop your weapons jedi!" He boomed. I could hear the clones behind us charging their blasters. I thought about running for cover but realized there wasn't any that wasn't near enough to a mine for us to get blown up and even if there was, we would be shot before we got to cover. Then the power went out. What little light had been provided by the data shelves was gone making the room go pitch black.

In the second it took for them to turn on their night vision, we had already made our move. Saras charged straight toward Frag, catching him off guard. He narrowly blocked her first stab with his rifle but was quickly disarmed when she kicked it out of his hand and dug her blade deep into the gap in his armor, behind his knee. Then she ignighted her lightsaber and held it against his neck. Her blue blade lit up his dark armor and a torn cloth that she had tied around the hilt rested against his chest.

"Bye-bye." Uttered Saras before separating his neck from his shoulders. I barely pulled Saras out of the way before a volley of vengeful blaster bolts riddled where she had been standing.

I used the force to grab one of the catwalks above us that the clones had been using for cover and brought it crashing to the ground. Several clones were killed when the mines that the catwalks landed on exploded. I felt bad about destroying a part of the temple I had spent so much time in, but it was what I had to do to survive.

I looked around after the smoke and dust settled. Only one clone remained and Rats held him in the air by the throught. "How did you know we were going to be here?!" She barked as she pulled off his helmet and looked him in the eyes. I knew he was going to die. His arms were broken at painful angles and his left leg was nothing but a bloody stump.

"Filthy Jedi, I won't tell you-" Then Saras slammed him into the ground with enough force for his armor to crack.

"Tell me how?!" She barked as she pushed her free hand against the mans forehead. The clone shrieked in pain as Saras dug through his mind with the force. "Tell me or I will kill you!" I fought the urge to stop her. What she was doing was wrong, no matter how many jedi that trooper had killed, he didn't deserve the pain she was forcing on him.

"Saras, we don't have time for this!" I bellowed as I tore her away from the wounded man. "We need to get into the vault and out of here before reinforcements arrive!" She protested but after a few moments of me pulling her towards the vault before she finally relinquished.

We cautiously walked toward the vault door and began cutting it open with our lightsabers. Since the power systems were down all we had to do was cut through the vault doors and enter the vault.

As we entered the room Saras flipped on her flashlight and began sifting through the holocrons. The room was roughly quarter the size of the library. Several large towers that ascended to the ceiling contained the holocrons. Each one contained it's own power source, so even with the power off we could see each separate holocron.

"I'm going to search storage cubes containing holocrons from at least 3,400 years ago, you go and look over in the holocrons from 3,700 until 3,500. It should be around there." Ordered Saras as she shifted through the clearly marked towers.

"It might be easier if you told me what we are looking for!" I recomended as I went to the tower that she had specified. "You need to tell me what we are looking for."

She sighed. "Remember Tython? Under the temple?"

"How could I not? You disappeared there!" I snapped. I didn't intend to sound so angry but it bothered me that she was talking about it like I would have forgotten. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize, I deserved that." She didn't even look toward me, she just continued discarding holocrons. "I need the one from Atris's tomb, it has information that is vital to the Revanite order." I remembered it, it's ornate golden exterior and bright red lights. I had carried the cube for a week hoping that Saras would return but eventually I earned when Caren took it from me that the holocron had been making me angry, drownimg me with misery. "It contains information on how to cut a being off from the force, an ability passed down by Meetra Surik and her disciples."

"Saras, that's not-"

"You said it yourself, we don't have the time, let's find it so we can get out of here." She ordered. I sighed. She was adamant that this needed to be done. I let that be the end of the conversation and continued my search. The only thing i found was an interesting holocron on Atton Rand, which i slipped into my flight jacket. A few minutes passed with no sign of the holocron then I felt a subtle pull coming from my left. I looked to see a dull red light emitting from the far side of the room.

Under what had once been a glass case protected by ray shield emitters sat the holocron. I could sense the malevolence that came from the holocron. I thought about hiding it from Saras so that she wouldn't find it but I knew she wouldn't leave with out it.

I unsealed the case and removed the holocron and gave it to Saras. "Let's get out of here." I made sure she knew I disaproved. She nodded. While we raced out of the vault,toward the hangar I contacted Ranna. "Etch, do you have our fighters ready?"

"We are almost to the hanger, we had to go around some clones." She explained.

"Hurry up, we are almost there." I ordered.

Saras and I rounded another corner and the entrance to the hanger came into view. We were little more than a few dozen meters when I heard the sound of metal boots sprinting against the concrete floor. "Tharen, they're catching up!" Yelled Saras.

_'Oh no!' _I realised. This had been my nightmare. It was going just how I remembered it. Sonic blaster fire flew past us. "Ranna! Where are you?!" I screamed as I drew my blaster and fired a few shots behind us.

Saras and I were barely in the hanger when I heard a high pitched scream. It sounded like Ranna, she was hurt. I stopped ad turned to face Horn. His large black helmet obstructed my view as he rammed me into the ground. "Goodbye Jedi!" He cackled before raising his blaster against my head while he dug his knee into my chest. More blaster fire passed over us as he savored watching me try to fight him off.

Then he was pulled into the air and forced back against one of the fuel canisters gasping for air. I looked around to see Ranna, she had one arm clutching her chest, where she had likely been hit. Her other arm on was outstretched, choking Horn with the force.

"Ranna no!" I cried as she snapped his neck and let him crumple to the ground. I caught her just as she was about to collapse on the ground. I could see Saras yelling for us to run. She was standing in the doorway of a shuttle hovering in front of the hanger door. I scooped Ranna up in my arms and ran for the shuttle.

Blaster fire struck the hull of the craft as I jumped inside the shuttle and Saras slammed the hatch closed. "Dain get us out of here!" She yelled into the cockpit just before the shuttle lurched forward. "I had better go help him lose any clone fighters that might chase us." She explained before leaving me and my padawan in the crew cabin.

I sat Ranna down on one of the fold down seats and tore open her tunic where she had been shot in the stomach. "It's not that bad." I soothed as I grabbed one of the bacta canisters from under her seat. She groaned sharply as I applied the cold, blue liquid. The wound had struck just above her waist and had scorched the skin and burned into the muscle. At Least she wasn't bleeding. "Its not as bad as when we crashed on Endor." I smiled.

"Master, about Horn..." she coughed.

I guess I had just wanted to forget about it. I had just seen my student kill someone with a forbiden force power, I didn't know what to tell her. "You shouldn't have killed him Ranna." I answered as I tied a bandage around her wound and helped her buckle into her seat.

"I'm sorry I killed him." She paused for a moment as the shuttle made a sharp left then pulled upward causing me to cling to one of the turbulence bars to avoid falling. "He was going to kill you Tharen and if I let him live he would have killed someone else. But I regret it."

"Thats a good thing Ranna" I smiled and he started to cry. I sat down next to Ranna and held her. "Its okay Etch, get some rest, we can talk about this when you feel better." I said calmly. "I will always be proud of you." She nodded and I wiped the tear from her eyes and allowed her to fall asleep on my shoulder as I listened to Saras and Dain bicker about trying to avoid clone pilots.


	8. The Gray Jedi of Eshan 19BBY

Tharen P.O.V.

I let Ranna sleep on my shoulder for a few minutes until I was sure she wouldn't wake up, then I slipped away, leaving my jacket for her as a pillow. I silently entered the cockpit and stood behind Saras. I was slightly comforted by the sight of the blue lights whisping around the ship and the stars flying past us.

"Dain, could you give Tharen and I a moment?" Ordered Saras in a whisper. Dain nodded and left the cockpit before Saras sealed the door. "How is Ranna doing?"

"She's had worse." I said flatly, hoping to avoid talking about Ranna.

"Somethings bothering you. What's wrong?" Her tone was serious but she was certainly concerened. I noticed she was still adjusting the hyperspace cordinates.

"Where are we going?" I dodged.

"I will tell you after you tell me what's wrong." She coaxed. "I think you and Ranna will find this very interesting."

I sighed. "What Ranna did was wrong." I admitted. "She killed him, I thought I had tought her better..."

"That's what has you so gloomy?" She chuckled. "That Commando tried to kill you! You should be back there thanking her!" I didn't understand how she was able to be so calm about it.

"Saras, she choked the man to death!"

"After he shot her and was going to kill us all!" She explained. "The Revanites have this code: if someone tries to kill you, gut them before they gut you."

"Thats not our way." I ignored her blatent disrespect for jedi philosophy. "She could have let him live..."

"Is that what you believe or what you've been tought to believe." She sighed and looked at me. "You know all those history books you used to read? How many soldiers and gangsters did Meetra Surik have to fight when she was gathering the ancient council? If she let any of them live, do you know what would have happened? They would attack her again." She looked at me and knew that I was done with the subject. "We will be arriving at Echan within the next few hours."

"The Echani home world? Isn't that a little dangerous? They don't exactly trust Jedi." I asked.

"Its no more dangerous than landing on a repub- I mean 'empire' world like Naboo. Atleast this planet was nutral during the war." Saras explained. "And its the closest place that has a Revanite encampment." She unlocked the door behind us so that we could see Dain and Ranna sleeping. "You had better hope Ranna likes hand-to-hand combat, otherwise she's going to have a heard time talking to her own people."

~~~•••~~~

We exited hyper space a six hours later. Echan was a planet at a distant orbit from it's star, just inside the habitable zone. The planet was covered in snowy mountains and flat ice plains. The ocean that separated each of the continents was a calming azure. The second Ranna stumbled into the cockpit, Saras pointed out a small city at the base of a small mountain chain near the northern coast as she pointed our shuttle toward it.

"Do you know where we are?" She smiled to my student.

Ranna blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked out the viewscreen. "Hoth?" She settled to sitting on the floor next to my seat.

"Do you remeber much about your homeworld?" Asked Saras.

It had taken me two years before Ranna had trusted me enough to explain her story, so I didn't expect her to say much. Her father had been a fisherman in the southern area of the planet and her mother had been a teacher at a music school. When riots broke out on the planet, her human father had been killed when his boat was stolen. Her mother died a short time later when the riots burned down the school. That was how Master Yarlen had found Ranna, she had been left in the care of her aunt until she was three when they found out she was force sensitive.

"Echan..." She sighed.

"You don't sound too happy about it?" Noticed Saras. "I figured that you would be happy."

I sensed Ranna starting to grow irratated. "Well, what are you waiting for? Bring us in for a landing." I requested before Ranna could say anything. "Etch, come with me." I stood up and led her to the crew cabin and rushed Dain back into the cockpit. "Okay, what's wrong? You've been a little off since we escaped the prison."

"Everything!" She blurt. "First, you were shot by clone troopers, then I find out that Saras is back! After that all our friends are killed in the temple, then we robbed the temple." I could feel how sad she was, nobody should have to experience what she had experienced in one day. "Then I get shot, you almost get Killed again! And I strangle a man to death!" I feel the shuttle hit atmosphere and we brace against the railing. "This is the final straw, I'm going crazy, Echan... bloody, frozen Echan. Just punch me in the face now while you are at it!" I chuckled and pulled her into a hug. "What's so funny?!"

"Don't you think you are being a little dramatic?" I answered. "I know things are hard, and I get it but you are letting your feeling get to your head, we'll be safe here."

"You are one to talk! You are so head over heels for Saras that you aren't thinking for yourself, every time she has an idea, you follow her blindly, you do remember this is the same woman who disapeared for four years! The only reason she came back is because she needed something! We should have left them back onCoruscant!"

"Ranna calm down, you aren't thinking clearly." I soothed. "Let's just see where they take us."

"And if its unsafe, or its a trap, we will leave and never come back?" I nodded. "Okay..." She sighed. "But please don't leave me alone, Dain keeps flirting with me."

"So?" I asked. "Most girls your age would-"

"I am a jedi, something you seemed to have forgotten is that we aren't allowed to form that sort of attachment! Also, he irritates me." She explained loudly. I almost laughed but I did promise to stay close to her and she agreed to calm down. A moment after, the shuttle landed.

~~~•••~~~

Saras was the first person down the shuttle's ramp, Dain followed her a few steps behind. Ranna had pulled her jacket's hood over her head, concealing her entire pale face. We had landed at the outskirts of the city we had seen from orbit. I could see towering skyscrapers several miles away.

The wind blew strongly as Saras led us deeper into the rocky hills at the base of an enormous mountain. Whe hiked in the cold for hours. The snow was up to our waists and the sun was about to set by the time Saras signalled for us to stop. "Tharen, Ranna. Drop your weapons." Ordered Saras as she pressed a button on her comlink.

I felt Ranna tense. "Why?" I asked. Even I was slightly nervous about her request.

"So that Baron Yural will open the enterance." She looked me in the eyes and I understood she was telling the truth. I dropped both my lightsabers and my blaster.

Ranna backed away from me slowly. "Master, you can't be serious! How do you know we won't be killed the moment we drop our weapons?" Her hand hovered shakily over her lightsaber. Her blaster burn must have been still taking its toll.

"Etch, you need to do as she asks."

"I don't tust her, not enough to drop the only means of protection I have." I could see her breath in the icy wind that blasted against her hood.

"Ranna, if Saras wanted to kill us, she would have left us in the temple, she wouldn't have saved us when we jumped out of the prison." I took a steady step toward her. "You don't have to trust her, you just need to trust me. You do trust me right?" I was now only a couple steps away.

"Of course I trust you, but you don't know if you are right to trust her either!" She psused for a moment and shivered. "We can still go, its not to late, we can leave and go hide somewhere away, somewhere the empire can't find us."

"Ranna, just drop your lightsaber, I'll make sure you get it back, after we get that wound taked care of." Promised Saras. "I would never allow either you or Tharen to be hurt."

Ranna looked at me. I could tell that all she wanted to do was leave. "Master... I... I don't know what's going on any more, all I want to do is for things to go back to the way they were, just the two of us."

"I know Ranna, but we can't do that. Not right now." I had my left hand on her shoulder and my right hand was covering her hand, preventing her from moving her lightsaber. "Now, I promise, I will keep you safe. Just like on Corelia." I nodded.

"Just like Corellia." She whispered back with a nod before letting her weapon fall into the snow.

Saras signaled Dain to collect our weapons before raising her Com-link again. "Baron Yural, the enterance is clear."

"Saras, Dain, welcome home. We need your acsess code before we can let you in." Explained an older man's voice over the com-link.

"Graysun, two, five, six. I have the holocron."

"Opening the doors." Answered the voice. A moment later, two large, snow covered doors slid open in the side of the mountainside. A warm light eminated from inside.

Dain, Ranna, and I followed Saras past the door and inside the bunker, then the doors slid shut behind us. The bunkers interior was a comfortable, warm temperature. Eight men in heavy armor with their blasters raised and pointed at us. At their center stood an older man with a shaved head. He was wearing a blood red tunic with black armor covering his shoulders and limbs.

"Saras, Dain, it's good to have you back. Flarn was starting to get worried because of the change in republic leadership." I realized he was the same man from Saras's com-link. "I understand you have the holocron?" Saras nodded, grabbed it out of her cloak and tossed it to him. "And guests? Are they Jedi that survived Coruscant?" Saras nodded again. "What are their names?" He was talking to Saras but I knew he wanted me to answer.

"I am Tharen." I answered politely. "This is Ranna Tovan, my Padawan." I motioned to Ranna, who was standing behind me.

"Good to meet you Tharen. Padawan Tovan." He ordered the soldiers to lower their weapons. "Dain, would you please take young Ranna to the med-bay so Tharen and i can talk buisness, poor thing looks like she's about to pass out."

Ranna looked to me hoping I would fulfill my promise to her. "If its alright with you, she'll stay with me."

He nodded and returned the holocron to Saras. "Take it to the librarian on level three. Tell them I will be there in an hour, I wish to talk to Tharen."


End file.
